Whiston, New Year's Eve 2008

Crewe Hall, Lydia's Wedding

Runcorn, Canal Walk Club

Alsager Civic Hall, ACWS

The Swan, Bignall End

Ah – the joys of pub gigs. StringFing were booked to play at the Swan in Bignall End as part of the Christmas festivities. Unfortunately the landlord had also brought in a Christmas tree so large that there was no room for us to play in our usual spot (i.e.in front of people) and so we were demoted to outside the gents loos. Classy.

Bexton, Leicester Warren Hall

Mosley Primary School,

 Anslow


Most nights we usually play a slower tune after a couple of dances for everyone to get their breath back, have a bit of a chat or to get that all important next pint from the bar. So it's great when people are so up for it that they just continue to do their own thing during these musical interludes. Tonight we had salsa dancing during the Siege of Delhi, a wild cowboy dance in Ragtime Annie, a packed floor waltzing to Shebag an Shemor and free-from ceili chaos to top and tail the night.

So for those of you who had no time to sit down here are Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Oxo Reel
Clopton Bridge
Midnight on the Water / Waltz Vienna
Waterloo Dance
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
The Siege of Ennis
Orcadian Strip the Willow
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Boston Tea Party
Shebag an Shemor / Give me your Hand
Polka Off
Old Swan Galllop
Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers

And the verdict on the night was:

Oh well, no one's perfect ;-)

King's Hall, Stoke

Karen's Birthday Dance, Horton

Longsdon Memorial Hall

Happy Birthday Rosie! Everyone ought to celebarte their eighteenth birthday with a ceili especially when it falls on National Ceiidh Day. No, I've never heard of it either.

Here's Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Goatland Square Eight
Oxo Reel
The Gravel Walks / Crowley's Reel
The Siege of Ennis
Clopton Bridge
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Strip the Willow
Waltz Shebag an Shemor / Give me your Hand
Boston Tea Party
Polka Off
Molloy's Favourite / The Foxhunter / Cooley's Reels
Caerphilly March
Waltz Midnight on the Water
Old Swan Gallop
Circassian Circle
Big Maggie's Set

Brown Edge

Heaton House

Collin's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Cock 'o th North / 100 Pipers
Collin's Big Set
The Snowball
Thady U Ganda
The Gay Gordons
Strip the Willow
Boston Tea Party
Old Swan Gallop
Foula Reel
Circassian Circle

Penkridge

Rachel, Whiston

Ingestre Hall

Woodford Community Centre

Heaton House Farm, Gaby and Gary

Congratulations Gaby and Gary. We had a great time and particularly liked the interval posh nosh – chip butties!

Here are Collin's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Doxey Marches
Thady U Ganda
Strip the Willow
Heel and Toe Polka
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
The Gay Gordons
Old Swan Gallop
Foula Reel
Cumberland Square Eight
Circassian Circle

Longton Rugby Club, Amy's Birthday

Michelle and Scot, Hartington

Keele University, Mechanics of Hearing Conference

Whoops! Forgot to bring the camera so you'll have to imagine the scenes of ceili chaos in the Comus Restaurant on the last night of the conference. It was probably for the best  – you know how out of hand these conferences can get :-)

Anyway, everybody else seemed to have a camera and were snapping away all night long so the photographic evidence is out there somewhere.

I was so confused to be playing on a Thursday instead of the usual weekend gig that I also forgot to make a note of the dances for your Moody Food Dance Cards, but I do remember the
Heel and Toe Polka, because of suggestions of wife-swapping, and some free form ceili break dancing in the Circassian Circle.

We must have also played Midnight on the Water as Sylvia and Mike got all smoochy with the 'cuddle dance' otherwise known as Rosa. Anyway it was a fun night.

Packington Moor, Rita and Darren

As gigs go this was short and sweet which gave us all the more time time to admire the stunning woodwork in the wedding barn.

Here's Sylvia's dances for your Mood Food Dance Card:

Glasgow Gallop
The Snowball
Goatland Square Eight
Clopton Bridge
Waltz
Circassian Circle

Crewe Alexandra

Blithbury Reindeer Lodge

At last! A barn dance in a proper barn.

Blithbury Reindeer Lodge

Heaton House Farm, Jen and John

Congratulations Jen and John.

Here are Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Glasgow Gallop
Highland Barndance
Waltz
The Snowball
Clopton Bridge
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Orcadian Strip the Willow
Waltz
Goatland Square Eight
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Dashing White Sergeant
Humours of Scariff / Some Say the Devil is Dead
Old Swan Gallop
Cicassian Circle
Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers

Consall Hall, Natalie and David

Congratulations Natalie and David.

This was another first for the Moody Food Ceili Band; to play at Consall Hall in the Staffordshire Moorlands. The gardens in the hidden valley are stunning and are well worth a visit for themselves.

Memories:
Natalie dancing all night; lots of 'enthusiastic' dancers; a young lad in a flat cap; an older lad with a birthday cake on his head; four gents dancing together and giving each other high fives as they 'circled left'; and a green wedding cake. Outside in the evening calm and as the sun began to set I watched geese returning to the lake below the hall – quite magical.

Here are Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Natalie and David's first dance
Glasgow Gallop
Oxo Reel
Clopton Bridge
Waltz
Goatland Square Eight
Circassian Circle
Polka Off
The Snowball
Old Swan Gallop

Bradwell Community Education Centre

Happy Birthday Anne!

It was quite a night with a guest caller, singing from Loud Mouth Women and Kate Barfield of the Boat Band and wild dancing from Black Dog Molly who somehow managed to persuade Emma to join in the stick bashing.

I also heard my first hurdy-gurdy joke last night:
Q. How long does it take to tune a hurdy-gurdy?
A. Nobody knows. Boom boom.

Here are Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

The Snowball
Sicilian Hornpipe
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Stoke Golding Country Dance
The Gravel Walks / Crowley's Reel
Haddenham Square Dance
Village Square
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Old Swan Gallop
The Willow Tree
Midnight on the Water / Waltz Vienna
Polka Off
The Humours of Scariff / Some Say the Devil is Dead
Keswick Square Eight

Heaton House Farm, Alison and Richard

We first played at Heaton House Farm with Sylvia calling way back in 2003. It's still a working farm and when we arrived today the guests were playing croquet in the evening sunlight surround by fields of lambs. It was a lovely laid back evening with just the band playing for Alison and Richard. The dancers even managed to walk through the ladies' chain in Waterloo Dance first time through which was an all time first.

Tom 'depped' on bass again even though he thinks it's the un-coolest thing he's ever done. At least he can claim that he has 'payed his dues' as a gigging musician. More importantly, he significantly lowers the average age of the band.

Styeheath, Astbury

The last time we were in Astbury we played for a young couple just starting out on married life but today it was to celebrate with Margaret and Robert their ruby wedding anniversary. Robert said that the 40 years had just flown by.

Not everyone has a garden large enough to accommodate a marquee and it took me a while to realize that the cherry tree covered in lights at its centre was actually part of the garden!

Baden Hall

Ben and Laura dancing the night away at Baden Hall.

Heaton House Farm

Charlie Watts once summed up his life in the Stones as 5 years making music and 20 years hanging about. There's quite a lot of hanging about playing for dances but at least it gives you time to admire the decor. Heaton House Farm is a regular gig for us and although the dance hall looks like a farm barn on the outside it's more of a 70s discoteque on the inside.

Betley Village Hall

when the whole hall dances
Sylvia and Mike demonstrating Swedish Masquerade

White Eagle Club, Stafford

StringFing playing for an Irish wedding celebration at the White Eagle Club in Stafford – well I suppose that's the significance of Terry's natty green kerchief.