The Ashes, Ruth and Andrew

Congratulations to Ruth and Andrew from the Moody Food Ceili Band. That was the first time we've seen an ice-cream van as part of the catering at a wedding. Sorry about all the pictures with mic stands in them – Emma claims she can't play drums and take photos at the same time. You can see some fantastic photos of the whole day, sans mic stands and in focus, taken by Raymond Lin on his website.

Collin's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

The Snowball
Collin's Big Set
Thady U Ganda
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Old Swan Gallop
The Foula Reel
Cumberland Square Eight
Circassian Circle 

Here's a little extract of the Scottish dance The Foula Reel taken by Raymond:

Sandon Hall, Christiane and Phil

Congratulations to Christiane and Phil on their wedding at Sandon Hall. I know that many of you were over from Germany so I hope that you didn't find the instructions for the dances too confusing. You seemed to be enjoying yourselves anyway. Every night has its special moments and we wont easily forget the chap who heroically fought his way through a bevy of bridesmaids to catch Christiane's bouquet—it's good to be in touch with your inner woman. His moment of triumph can be seen at the end of the slide show. On a more musical note we also enjoyed one of Christiane's cousins playing some jazz and finger pickin' solos during the interval—hot stuff!




















This was our first time at Sandon Hall so we took the opportunity to look around away from the main hall with its impressive stair case. I particularly liked the library with its fine bindings—A Treatise on Aerial Locomotion took my eye—and also the charming orangery with its ornate metal work and water features.



Two more 'features'—Christ Church, Lord Sandon's faithful horse and a rather foppish bust—somebody didn't read the house rules. Here's a link to some more of Mike's photos of the evening with instructions on how to download them.

Finally, here for my new friend with the Foley bouzouki are Sylvia's dances and the tunes played by the Moody Food Ceili Band.

The Glasgow Gallop (The Kesh / Mist on the Mountain / The Blackthorn Stick)
The Snowball (Munster Buttermilk / Merrily Danced the Quaker's Wife)
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
The Goatland Square Eight (Cutting Bracken / The Connaught Man's Rambles / My Love in the Morning)
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Orcadian Strip the Willow (Waterloo Dance / Bluebell Polka / Atholl Highlanders)
Circle Waltz (Midnight On The Water)
Clopton Bridge (The Rehaired Boy / Off to California)
Waltz (Shebag an Shemor / Give me your Hand)
Circassian Circle (Patsy Geary's / Colman's Cross)
The Cock O' The North / 100 Pipers