Brown Edge, New Year's Eve, 2009

Happy New Year!

Thanks to everyone who came to share New Year's Eve with Moody Food and Sylvia and for dancing all night long. We managed ro raise £300 for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

I hope some of you used your dance cards even though Sylvia carefully avoided virtually every dance on your card. Just for the record, here is the programme for the evening.

Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Beccles Slide
A Simple Longways Set
Circle Waltz
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Orcadian Strip The Willow
The Humours of Scarrif / Some Say the Devil is Dead
The Cottagers
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
The Siege of Ennis
Happy Birthday Carol
Jack's Alive
Haddenham Square Eight
The Dashing White Sergeant
Shebag an Shemor / Give Me Your Hand
The Willow Tree
The Gay Gordons
The Chimes of Big Ben
Auld Lang Syne
Polka Off
Circassian Circle


If you were wondering about the account
in your dance card it was taken from the diary of the Revd Francis Kilvert for Tuesday 7 January 1873  whilst he was at Langley Burrell. Here's the extract in full:

At 8 o'clock Fanny, Dora and I went to a jolly party at Sir John Awdry's at Notton House. Almost everybody in the neighbourhood was there. There had been a children's party with a Christmas Tree at 5 o'clock, but when we drove up the harp and the fiddles were going. 'Bang went the drum, the ball opened immediately, and I knew not which dancer most to admire,'  but I think it was – Francie Rooke. Dear little Francie Rooke. The dining room was turned into the ball room, beautifully lighted overhead, and the smooth polished oaken floor went magnificently, just like glass, but not a bit too slippery, though Eliza Styles came down with a crash full on her back in Sir Roger de Coverly, and there was a roar of laughter which, combined with Eliza's fall, shook the room.

I danced a Lancers with Harriet Awdry of Draycot Rectory, a quadrille with Sissy Awdry of Seagry Vicarage, a Lancers with Louise Awdry of Draycot Rectory, a Lancers with Mary Rooke of the Ivy, and Sir Roger with dear little Francie Rooke of the Ivy. How bright and pretty she looked, so merry, happy and full of fun. It was a grand Sir Roger. I never danced such a one.The room was quite full, two sets and such long lines, but the crush was all the more fun. `Here' said Francie Rooke to me quietly, with a wild, merry sparkle in her eye, and her face brilliant with excitement, 'let us go into the other set.' There was more fun going on there, Eliza Styles had just fallen prostrate. There were screams of laughter and the dance was quite wild. There was a struggle for the corners and everyone wanted to be at the top. In a few minutes all order was lost, and everyone was dancing wildly and promiscuously with whoever came to hand. The dance grew wilder and wilder. 'The pipers loud and louder blew, the dancers quick and quicker flew.' Madder and madder screamed the flying fiddle bows. Sir Roger became a wild romp till the fiddles suddenly stopped dead and there was a scream of laughter. Oh, it was such fun and Francie Rooke was brilliant. When shall I have another such partner as Francie Rooke?

An excellent supper and we got home about one o'clock, on a fine moonlit night.

Sir Roger de Coverley sounds like fun – lets do it next year.

Thanks for helping us raise £300.