The Members' Magazine of the RSCDS No 5 October 2007
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SSCCOO TTTTIISSHH country dancer The Members’ Magazine of the RSCDS No 5 October 2007 News from Coates Crescent From around the world The Archive Interview with Lord Mansfield From the Chair Management Committees The Society on camera Trip to Lorient Spring Fling A branch and a club Overheard on the web Reviews In my opinion Day School diary Obituaries The Official RSCDS tartan Supplied exclusively by Tartankilts.com Full range of products G Kilting fabric G Fabric for skirts G Kilts G Fabric for dresses G Ties G Wool Shawls G Fly Plaids G 50% Silk/50% Wool Shawls G Flashes and hose. G Rosette Sashes G Charlie and G Plain Sashes Argyle Jackets G Sporrans and belts G Cummerbunds and Bow ties G Accessories G Baseball caps, Flat caps, Shoe bags and Cushions All tartan woven in the highlands of Scotland. Visit www.tartankilts.com JANET WASHINGTON at CLAIRE CHARLES DESIGNS Dance Books G 20 years experience Books of Music G Exclusive stockist of CDs for dancing RSCDS tartan silk and polycotton CDs for listening pleasure G 70 Clan tartans also ING NEW COM available “Aye SOON CD – Silk £30 per metre “Masters of the Polycotton £15 per metre Afloat” Tradition Vol.2” CD and Dance Book Piano – Muriel Johnstone Full Stock Carried Dances - Margaret Zadworny and from Keith & Muriel, Closed Thursday & Sunday Music - Muriel Johnstone a double dancing CD For bespoke outfits please played by including many old favourites make an appointment Keith Smith & Muriel Johnstone and some new gems. 8 West Moulin Road, Pitlochry PH16 5AD email: [email protected] Tel: 01796 473787 web: www.scotscores.com Editorial Contents Thank you Jimmie! Sadly Jimmie Hill has stepped down as 4 News from Coates Crescent editor of Scottish Country Dancer after successfully piloting the Changes and developments at Headquarters magazine through its first four issues. We are all grateful to 6 From around the world him. Looking back it’s amazing that for so many years we Reports from our regional correspondents thought we could manage without a publication such as this. 9 The RSCDS Archive In a very short time Scottish Country Dancer has become part of The Peel Index the RSCDS landscape. 10 Interview with Lord Mansfield No one could replace Jimmie and no one has. A whole team is Reflections and comment from our retiring President now in place to continue his good work. The new editor has 13 From the Chair seven years’ experience with The Reel, there is a new face and Irene Bennett writes about the Chairman’s Chain some familiar names on the Editorial Board, we have engaged 14 Management Committees the professional design services of Dougie Gibson and the Membership Services, General Purposes and Finance, Chairman, Chairman Elect, Secretary and Convenors will act Education and Training collectively as publisher overseeing everything. The new team 16 The Society on camera will continue to rely on the expertise of our Headquarters staff, Dancers from nine to ninety years but above all it will be you, the members, who determine the 18 Francis Peacock content of the magazine. Without your contribution Scottish The second instalment on this great teacher Country Dancer will be nothing. Please let the editorial team 20 Trip to Lorient know what you think, and send us your ideas, comments and The RSCDS team at the Festival Interceltique news. We will certainly read and be influenced by everything 21 Spring Fling you submit, even if we cannot print it all. Young dancers in the RSCDS We are determined to publish the magazine at designated 22 A branch and a club times of the year. This issue should reach you in October, in Toronto Branch and Dunedin Dancers time for the Society’s AGM. There will be another issue in April. 23 Dancing Matters To achieve these regular publication dates we shall set Observations on the allemande and Technique Doctor deadlines for contributions, so material for the next issue 25 Overheard on the Web should be with the editor by 1 February. That’s a long lead-in Recent postings on the internet time, but we hope to reduce that with experience. However a 26 Reviews twice yearly magazine with a worldwide distribution is not the New recordings and books place for hot off the press news; check the website for that. 27 In my opinion Our publication schedule means that we cannot report on Fiona Grant (Bristol Branch) gives her views Dance Scottish Week in September, which we are sure has been 28 Day School Diary a great success. Do let us know what your branch or club did Schools from October 2007 to September 2008 during the week, and in the next issue we will share everyone’s 29 Obituaries ideas so we can make the next Dance Scottish Week even Tributes to dedicated RSCDS supporters better. Turning to this issue we mark the retirement of Lord Cover picture: Scone Palace, Perthshire Mansfield as Honorary President of the Society, we look again by kind permission of the Earl of Mansfield. at the life and times of Francis Peacock and, with an eye to the Editor Contact future, we celebrate the continuing success of Spring Fling, our Andrew Kellett [email protected] annual event for young dancers, and the first performances of Editorial Board Advertising the new, youthful RSCDS demonstration team. Elspeth Gray, Jimmie Hill, Linda Gaul Pat Houghton, Jean Martin [email protected] Happy dancing! Publisher The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society 12 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7AF Website Telephone E mail REMEMBER www.rscds.org 0131 225 3854 [email protected] The next issue of Scottish Country Dancer will be published in Graphic Designer Its All Good April 2008. Please send your news, photographs, letters The Haughs, Cromdale, Grantown on Spey, PH26 3PQ [email protected] and comments, especially about Dance Scottish Week, to Printer the editor by 1 February 2008. Buccleuch Printers, Tweed Horizons, Newtown St Boswells, Melrose TD6 0SG. 3 News from Coates Crescent Elspeth Gray brings you up-to-date with highlights of what has been happening at Headquarters. Elsewhere in the magazine you will find news from the Chairman and the Committee Convenors. Hon. President House Style Update 2008, at the Cluny Centre in Morningside, As notified in the last issue, the Earl of Edinburgh, and we will be writing to Mansfield is standing down after thirty Branches shortly to confirm this and to years as President of the Society – there is take arrangements forward. Whereas the an interview with Lord Mansfield on page Society met the cost of holding the initial 10 which we hope you will enjoy reading. conference in 2006, with the exception of Lord Mansfield has been a wonderful travel expenses, Branches will be asked to supporter of Scottish country dancing and meet the costs of the 2008 conference. the RSCDS, and has made a great contribution to the Society over the years. In June, we sent out to all Branches a disk Communication with His wisdom and guidance will be very containing the new logo in a variety of Headquarters much missed. Following lengthy styles and formats, together with I suspect it will be no surprise to many consideration, the Management Board guidelines for their use. Hopefully of you that communication with has invited Dr Alastair MacFadyen to take Branches will by now have begun to Headquarters – whether by letter, email or on the role of President, and we are incorporate the new logo into their own phone – has increased greatly in recent delighted to say he has accepted. His materials. If any Branch has not received appointment will be proposed to the AGM the disk, or if you have any queries that years. We receive around 30 emails per in November. Dr MacFadyen has held a are not covered in the guidelines, please day to [email protected], and in addition number of roles within the Society over just let us know. most of the staff team receive between 20- the years – examiner, archivist, chairman – 40 emails directly. Of course, we also and we look forward to hearing more from Members’ Database receive correspondence by mail; this him in the next issue. varies hugely, and can be anything from 3- In the last issue, we said that the facility 30 letters per day (in addition to the for Branches to access and update their Members’ Room at “regular” mail items such as orders, own members’ data online would be subscription and affiliation payments, Headquarters ready by June 2007 – unfortunately, that invoices, application forms, etc). We are has not been possible, as there have been aware that, at times, it has taken longer several glitches that we are determined to than we would like to respond to iron out completely before turning the communications. Where an urgent system over to Branches. We are hopeful response is requested, we will of course that all will be finalised very shortly, continue to do our best to meet that however, and that details will be sent out expectation. If an immediate response to Branch secretaries by the time this is not made, we will at least issue a magazine is distributed. standard response to communications, so that correspondents know that their Life Members letter/email has been received. That Several Life members have contacted response will outline to which individual/s Headquarters to request copies of the or committee the communication has magazine, as they were apparently not on been passed. If it is a general query that the distribution list. We sent a letter to will be dealt with at Headquarters, a Life members with the first edition of response will be made within six weeks.