Moody Food Ceili Band at Brown Edge, Staffordshire

A fabulous night for The Moody Food Ceili Band at one of our favourite village halls celebrating Janet's 60th birthday. Janet managed to rise £500 for the charity PWSA UK by asking for donations in lieu of presents.

Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food dance card: 

• Behind The Haystack / Merrily Danced the Quaker's Wife
• Sylvia's Hop
• Gordon's Roundabout
• Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
• Waterloo Dance
• Midnight OnThe Water / Waltz Vienna
• Happy Birthday Janet
• The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
• Oxo Reel
• Crowley's / The Foxhunter / Cooley's Reels
• Lucky 7
• Polka Off
• Circle Hornpipe
• Circassian Circle
• Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers

There must be cake!

Brown Edge, New Year's Eve 2012

Happy New Year!

Thanks to everyone who helped make our New Year's Eve party such a success – Mikes 1 and 2, Jennie and Sarah and especially Sylvia for all her hard work before she even got to the gig. We'll be playing at Betley next New Year's Eve – so that's one for your diary! We've also got a few more than usual dances which are open to the public in 2013 so take a look at the gigs page on our website to keep updated.

Sylvia's dances for your Moody Food Dance Card:

Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
The Grand National
Geoff's Square
Circle Mixer
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
The Holly Bush
Clopton Bridge
The Gravel Walks / Crowley's Reels
The Siege of Ennis
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Victoria's Sean Nos dance
The Dashing White Sergeant
Stars on the Side
Jack's Alive
Sir Roger De Coverley
Shebag an Shemor / Give me your Hand
The Chimes of Big Ben
Auld Lang Syne
Polka Off
The Willow Tree
Circassian Circle
Southern Flavor

New Year's Eve, Brown Edge Village Hall

Happy New Year!

Thanks to everyone who came to see in the New Year with Moody Food, especially Neil from Jigsmith for coming all the way from Shropshire for a bit of a bop. You all helped us to raise £400 for the Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

We all had a great time (I especially liked the ceili conga at the end) and even managed to fix the raffle so that Emma won first prize – a first for the band. We were also treated to Victoria dancing a solo Irish reel with Sue playing the Nine Points of Roguery, otherwise known as The Nine Pints of Pedigree which is what we usually have to drink before attempting to play it. Also, thanks to Mike and Warren for taking the photos and to Roo and Indie for guarding the door by being cute.

It looks like this will be our last time at Brown Edge for some time as we will be seeing in the next new year at Betley – see you all there!

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

Sylvia's Simple Longways Set
Drops of Brandy
Dorchester Caper
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Haddenham Square Set
Old Swan Gallop
The Barley Reel
Molloy's Favourite / The Foxhunter / Cooley's Reels
The Dashing White Sergeant
The Siege of Ennis
Jack's Alive
The Weaving Dance
Polka Off
Midnight on the Water / Waltz Vienna
The Gay Gordons
The Chimes of Big Ben
Auld Lang Syne
The Circassian Circle
The Siege of Delhi / The Earls Chair

Fix!

Indie, the Zen guard dog.

Thanks for raising £400 for the DMH.

Brown Edge Village Hall, June and John

Congratulations to June and John on your belated wedding party.

With a hall full of ceili virgins, some tottering around on vertigo inducing heels (swiftly abandoned), ceili chaos ruled the dance floor, but there was to be no supper until everyone had got up and danced. John confessed that although he'd been to many a barn dance he had never actually participated before – we hope it won't also be the last time! So, well done everybody for giving it a go and well done little Lewis for managing to dance The Snowball with his Dad.

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

The Cock o' the North / 100 Pipers
Glasgow Gallop
The Snowball
Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie
Goatland Square Eight
Old Swan Gallop
The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair
Clopton Bridge
Orcadian Strip the Willow
Waltz Midnight on the Water / Waltz Vienna
Simple Longways Set (Nova Scotia)
Molloy's Favourite / The Foxhunter / Cooley's Reel
Circassian Circle

Lewis relaxes with a pint after mastering The Snowball.

 Yes!

 No!

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.

Brown Edge Village Hall

Lots of old friends and some new dances made for another great night. Our next gig here is on New Year's Eve – see you all then!

Sylvia's Dances for your Moody Food Dance Card

Discouraging Waltz / Ragtime Annie

Glasgow Gallop 

Square Set Polka 

Humours of Scariff

Orkney Strip the Willow

Waltz

Circle Hornpipe

The Siege of Delhi / The Earl's Chair

The Siege of Ennis 

Jack's Alive

The Gravel Walks / Crowley's Reel

The Maypole

Rosa

Old Swan Gallop

Cornish Six Hand Reel

The Willow Tree

Circassian Circle

Brown Edge

Thanks to birthday boy Chris, Terry and Glen for depping on bass, guitar and fiddle and to Mike for the photos.

The Dances

The Cock O' The North / 100 Pipers
The Snowball
Goatland Square Eight
Orkney Strip The Willow
Circle Hornpipe
Postman's Knock
Patsy Geary's / Coleman's Cross
Circle Mixer
Cornish Six Hand Reel
Old Swan Gallop
Women of Ireland / The Tarboltan
Haddenham Square Eight
Shebag an Shemor / Give Me Your Hand
Circle Waltz
Polka Off
Circassian Circle
Cock of the North

Brown Edge