It's always exciting turning up to a new venue for the first time. So when I arrived at Hartington Hall for Naomi and Daniel's wedding I had visions of performing in a seventeenth-century manor house, all oak panelling and a roaring log fire. Maybe I could slip away at some point, Pevsner in hand, to admire the plaster ceilings and five-light mullioned windows. So it was a bit of a surprise to discover that we would actually be playing in a tipi in the garden!
In the event what the tipi lacked in old world charm it made up for in quirkiness and, more to point, dancing space. Coming from mid-Wales where during the 70s every valley seemed to have it's own little tipi community I felt right at home, although I have to admit it was a bit on the chilly side by the end of the night. Quite a few of the dancers kept their coats on (this was the third gig this year where it was too cold to hold my pick – at least this time it was October and not mid-summer).
There was a wonderful DIY ethos to the proceedings with the ceremony printed on recycled paper, making a welcome change from the usual silver wedding stationery, lots of outside games and a wedding 'cake' made of cheeses – wish I'd been there all day.
Jeff's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:
Naomi and Daniel's first dance (Midnight on the Water)
Lucky 7
Caledonian Gallop
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Galloped
Virginia Reel
Shelly's
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Waltz
The Old Swan Gallop
Holmfirth Square Eight
A Hornpipe
The Dishrag
Circassian Circle
Cock o' the North
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