Autumn Ceilidh

Saturday 28th October, 2006 - Terminus Hall, Grand Hotel Terminus

The third ceilidh that the Society organised was made an extremely memorable occasion by the presence of the Loretto School Pipes and Drums and Highland Dancers, and the Ian Hutson Scottish Dance Band. The evening began with guests being greeted by 16 pipers and drummers of Loretto School playing outside Terminus Hall. Earlier in the week Loretto School had distinguished themselves with a live performance and interview on Bård Ose’s programme on NRK’s P1 radio station, followed by a rendition of the Bergen anthem Nystemten and a display of Highland Dancing for a live transmission on NRK’s evening new programme Vestlandsrevyen.

After a welcome drink and a chance to mingle, guests were invited to dinner and lead up the steps to Terminus Hall by Pipe Major Colin Pryde of Loretto School. The menu for the evening was Rabbie’s Ragout (a beef stew) followed by the time honoured classic Apple Crumble. Coffee was accompanied by a display of piping and Highland Dancing by the pupils of Loretto School, including a moving rendition of The Gael from the film Last of the Mohicans. The Bergen Scottish Pipeband joined the Loretto School Pipes and Drums to play Nystemten, at which every guest in hall rose to their feet.

Once the tables had been cleared for dancing, the Ian Hutson Scottish Dance band took over and raised the tempo a notch as the dancing got underway. Ian played a variety of dances and provided guidance and instruction so that no-one had an excuse for sitting out! As Ian said, “In Scotland we do everything twice”, so everyone had the chance to hone their dancing skills. The dance floor was packed for every dance, and Ian and the boys didn’t have much trouble encouraging everyone to take part. The evening was brought to a close at about 01:30 with Auld Lang Syne.

Around 150 members and non-members enjoyed a fun-filled evening of Scottish Country Dancing and musical entertainment. The dinner was sold out in advance and extra “dancing only” tickets were made available to additional guests that wanted to come along and join in the dancing. The evening was a tremendous success and was the Society’s largest event to date.