A Charity Dinner Dance in aid of Future Choices is being held on Saturday 8th October 2011 at Pittodrie Stadium.With thanks toDavid Forbes.
Future Choices is a local charity set up to support Disabled people in the City of Aberdeen, with a range of social and recreational activities already established for it’s members.
The charity is geared towards encouraging and enabling disabled individuals to get out of there homes to meet up and interact, and have many more classes and activities lined up for the future.
This is the second year in which the dinner dance has been organised to raise funds for Future choices.
Last year, £1,500 was raised towards setting up activities and resources. This year it is hoped that much more will be raised enabling the charity to realise a long standing ambition to acquire a vehicle so that they can provide a greater level of basic support to disabled people in Aberdeen.
The event includes a 3 course meal, live singer and some special guests.
There will also be a raffle and auction. Future Choices are very grateful to the News team at STV for the gift of a signed football which will be going to the auction prize pool. The group are also very grateful for the help and support from Staff Members at Mecca Bingo in Berryden – every bit of help makes a huge difference.
Charity Dinner Dance in aid of Future Choices.
Saturday 8th October 2011
Pittodrie Stadium 6.30pm – 00.30am
Call 07821700046 to book ticket(s)
If you wish to support this event but will be unable to attend, please call and pledge a donation, or purchase raffles or merchandise.
More info.
Following the closure of the Choices Day Centre in 2008, a group of former users of the Centre , their friends and families came together to form “Future Choices” which is now registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). ( Registered charity number 040085 )
Aberdeen Chorus of Sweet Adelines, one of the most successful medal-winning Barbershop choruses in the UK, returned from Edinburgh recently – their third successive year there – hailing their show at the Fringe a triumph. Marketing and Publicity Officer Linda Allantells us more.
Despite their many adventures on the way there, including thunder storms, mini flash floods on the motorway, a rescue by the A.A., cancelled trains and problems with the staging, all the intrepid lady pirates made it to the venue to the obvious delight of the enthusiastic audience, who gave a standing ovation claiming the show Adventure On The High Cs was “the best one yet”
Now Aberdonians will also get a chance to see these intrepid women display their pirattitude as Adventure On The High Cs will form part of their show in the Music Hall on Friday 16 September at 7:30pm.
Audiences will be treated to a very varied performance, with glimpses of Abba, flashing cutlasses, Gilbert and Sullivan, humorous ditties, and traditional Scottish airs, including a very special arrangement of The Northern Lights.
Sharing the stage this year will be the local successful trio of Fifth Dimension with their special blend of magic and humour which is sure to engage and astound the audience. Spectators will also be treated to enthralling performances by dancers from the very successful Sharon Gill School of Dance.
In addition to their Music Hall show the chorus is offering afree 4-week singing course to women. These lessons will take place on Mon 24 Oct, Mon 7 Nov, Mon 21 Nov, and Mon 28 Nov 2011 at 7:30pm in the Britannia Hotel, Bucksburn.
Participants will receive tuition on breathing and posture, vocal production and performing skills in a warm and friendly atmosphere. All course materials – music and learning CDs will be provided – there is no need to be able to read music – but you need to enjoy singing!
Last week’s Voice featured Aberdeen entertainment iconSid Ozalid, his life, his act, his impact, the release of his new book, and news of ‘not to be missed’ performances in the city. Well, If you did happen to miss out on catching Sid live on Friday and Saturday, then fash yersel not – this week we present a brief account of the missed mayhem, and a poem from ‘Mr Elastic Brain’.
Sid Ozalid jetted in from Sunny Amsterdam last Friday for a whistle stop tour of Aberdeen to promote his fab new book ‘Mr Elastic Brain – The Life and Poems of Sid Ozalid’.
The previous week he had done three gigs in London and the week before that three gigs in Holland, so he was keen to make it a hat trick and do three gigs in Aberdeen.
This meant two gigs on Friday night and a book signing/performance at 1UP on the Sat afternoon.
Below – Sid Ozalid performs ‘Tartan Underpants’ accompanied by Dave McLeod.
Lots of people made one gig, a few brave people made it along to two gigs, but apart from Sid and his lovely wife only one person made it to all three: a Mr Colin MacLean who had driven up from the Kingdom of Fife to see Sid after an absence of 26 years.
Colin and Sid had performed together in 1977 in one of Aberdeen’s first punk bands, ‘The Enormous Snakes,’ and Colin had gone on to work with Sid as one of his All-Stars over a number of years, taking in the Edinburgh Festival and supporting The Clash at Inverness Ice Rink.
The first two gigs sizzled with professionalism, wit and dancing. The 24 year-old MC at Geesalaff Comedy Night, Miss Anna Devitt said:
“I was exhausted just watching; he was non-stop, how can someone this old have so much energy? My mum is a big fan and told me to get one of his books, the book truly is amazing, so I told mum to get her own copy.”
The third gig at 1UP, the sole suppliers of Sid’s book in Aberdeen, was the most surreal by far.
Sid performed ‘Salvador Dali’s Hat’, ‘Three Fat Ladies at the Bingo Hall,’ and thrashed himself with a daisy — but nothing had prepared him for two drunk shoppers and a man in an electric wheel chair.
The drunk shoppers really giggled at Sid’s antics, but thought nothing of standing next to him flicking through CD’s and asking his opinion on Hip Hop and Jazz classics.
Sid took all of this in his stride and was set the extra challenge of being nimble on his feet when the electric wheelchair man was so taken by the performance he decided to join in, whizzing to the stage and joining Sid on the first electric wheelchair elastic brain dance routine ever seen in Aberdeen. Sid may well have been the dance teacher to the Queen at one time in his life, but nothing had prepared him for this!!
Some nice people had ordered Sid’s book from Amazon and brought it along to be signed, and other nice people bought copies of the book at 1UP, and there then followed a good half hour of chatting and book signing.
A special mention must go to Fred Craig of 1UP who had brought along one of Sid’s original book/records from 1982 ‘Songs and Stories from a Suitcase Extravaganza.’ Fred wanted this signed, and in return Sid was rewarded with a well deserved cup of tea.
With all profits going to MIND for better mental health Sid was a happy man. http://www.mind.org.uk/
Tartan Underpants
They are groovy they can dance
They can put you in a trance
That’s my tartan underpants
Tartan underpants ooh
Tartan underpants ooh
You can use them as a tent use then as a hanky
One thing is sure there’s never hanky panky
In my tartan underpants
Tartan underpants ooh
Tartan underpants ooh
I don’t drink whisky don’t eat haggis
Go to bed with a girl from Paris
In my tartan underpants
Tartan underpants ooh
Tartan underpants ooh
My pants are funky they know what to do
Goodbye boxer shorts it’s the Y Front crew
That’s my tartan underpants
Tartan underpants ooh
Tartan underpants ooh
I’m a boring old folk singer
Philip is my name
My mother is a miner
My sisters on the game
I’ve a face like a scrotum
Wear an Arran jersey
Nobody likes me
I’ve got bad breath
Claymore !!!
My old sheep ran away
my dog is very angry
He hasn’t slept all week
And likes a drink of shandy
Ben Nevis !!!
The year is 1979. I am at Aberdeen’s 62 Club to watch a selection of local punk bands, and my attention is drawn to an unfamiliar name on the bill.
Sid Ozalid? A band? A guy? Pretty punk if slightly strange kind of a name though, which for an 18 y.o. punk diehard was somehow reassuring.
On stage appeared a tall, skinny, slightly weird-looking guy with no guitar. Not punk – not punk at all, which in the circumstances was all the more intriguing.
What happened next was somewhere between seeing the light and being scarred for life.
Out of a sudden discharge of nervous energy came an onslaught of surreal, silly verse spliced seamlessly with a bunch of broken anecdotes delivered at a pace leaving no pause for appraisal; accompanied by incongruous, disjointed, directionless dance moves which somehow worked – they must have worked, as somehow, he stayed on his feet.
Then it was over. I had not moved. I was still staring at the empty stage, and I remember thinking: “I hope no-one asks me what I made of Sid Ozalid.” Devoid of reference points, my thoughts were a long time coming. Yes, I found it funny, and yes I was immensely entertained – I just didn’t know why! Neither punk nor Python, neither Cutler, Cooper nor Cooper-Clarke, Sid Ozalid certainly breathed the same air, but did not walk on the same planet.
Would I perhaps find a clue to understanding what made Sid tick from his publicity around at the time? –
“Legend has it that Sid Ozalid was born sometime during an eruption of earwigs.
“Sid arrived on earth from the planet OZ in the year 1898. His spaceship was disguised as an old brown suitcase that was full of inflatable toys.
“During this period he specialised in walking backwards into hat stands.
“Six years later he split from Flying Ozalids to form Sid and Sam the Ozalid Twins. This dynamic duo thrilled audiences with their routine entitled ‘The First pickled Onion in Orbit’, but alas this too came to an abrupt end due to lack of cupboard space”
– Alas, No.
Fast-forward to the following evening.
Three troublesome fat ladies, a conductor named Russ and a womanising fire raising tortoise had taken up permanent residence in my consciousness, and it seemed that the only way to exorcise these delightful demons, and at the same time come to terms with the experience was via demonstration to the uninitiated.
And so there I was outside with my brothers and sister and a few chums, recounting those fragments of verse I could recall whilst attempting in vain to recreate those unique ‘dance’ moves.
Perhaps an observer of the ‘lite’ version would be better placed to help me understand what it was about Sid that had so affected me. No chance. They stood – as I had stood, and stared – as I had stared, and laughed. That evening, each time another chum arrived in our company came the call:
” Hey Fred, go dae yer Sid Ozalid, watch ess, it’s really funny “
The previous evening Sid had performed for around 15 minutes. Twenty four hours later, I must have performed twice as long armed with only about 30 seconds of Sid’s material. More than once, passers-by stopped on the other side of the road … then moved on when they ascertained I was not in need of medical assistance.
As I look back I realise this was a solid indication that Sid Ozalid would be around for some time to come, and would become, if not a legend, definitely an icon of the Aberdeen Entertainment scene.
I was not the only one for whom Sid Ozalid presented an enigma:
” he auditioned and was invited to perform on two different talent shows. Once again the producers liked what Sid was doing but did not know how to describe him. They settled for ‘eccentric’. ” – Douglas John Mclean Cairns
Thirty two years on, having enjoyed many more of Sid’s performances, yet being no closer to understanding exactly how to explain what it is about Sid Ozalid’s act that entertains, amuses and excites me, I find myself charged with the task of reviewing his brand new book:
“Mr Elastic Brain – The Life And Poems Of Sid Ozalid”.
Having just finished reading it, I find myself desperate to tell everyone to go get themselves a copy as soon as possible, but as with my impression of that first performance, I struggle to articulate why it will be worth more to you than a tenner. But I will try.
These days, I know Sid Ozalid by his not so ‘pretty punk, and kinda reassuringly strange’ name Douglas Cairns …. which is actually more reassuring.
So, where to start?
This is an autobiographical book in four parts, about Sid Ozalid, written by Douglas John McLean Cairns. Or is it? As with all things Sid Ozalid, it is the equivalent of an ‘any-way-up’ cup as the first part of the book demonstrates.
Even to someone as familiar with the writer as I am, It startles me to discover that the madness which fuelled the performances of Sid Ozalid and brought so much pleasure to many also had an alter ego in the shape of a mental illness which had a devastating effect on Douglas Cairns for a period in 2001 – and as a consequence, all but put an end to Sid.
“People had always told Sid he was mad. He thought they were joking until the dawning of the new millennium, suddenly he had a doctor’s certificate to prove what people had been telling him for years.” – Douglas John Mclean Cairns.
Here it is we find – in between some hilarious stories of Sid’s outrageous antics and adventures – an honest account of the extent of Douglas’ illness, punctuated by humour of a nature that can only be explained in terms of Douglas’ story being written by Sid.
It is difficult to pinpoint where ownership of the pen changed, but what results is uniquely unsettling, and simultaneously entertaining. For Sid to joke about Douglas’ dark and desperate situation is surely to run the risk being regarded as sick … but then, at the pertinent time, they are both sick aren’t they?
I don’t have the recipe, but I am pretty sure the main ingredient is his ability to appeal to our inner child.
However, at no point does the humour mask the pain, the lighter asides serving only reinforce the severity of the debilitating condition by way of contrast. It is a brave piece of writing, sandwiched between hilarious tales of the more familiar and wonderful madness of The Artist Formerly Known As Sid Ozalid.
The major portion of the book’s contents is a collection of Sid’s wonderfully bizarre and humorous poems and songs which were the mainstay of his act from 1977 to the present day. Similarities with this material and that of Spike Milligan are impossible to ignore. However, to leave it at that would be to compare a wedding cake with a rowie on account of their flour content.
So am I any closer to putting into words what is the magical appeal of Sid Ozalid?
Well I don’t have the recipe, but I am pretty sure the main ingredient is his ability to appeal to our inner child.
Didn’t we all spontaneously giggle and cackle as babes in response to the simplest and the silliest of things? A pulled face? A silly noise? The poking out of a tongue? A sudden unexpected movement or gesture? Anything at all unusual yet unthreatening? When did we stop being so spontaneously and so thoroughly amused? Did we stop giggling, or did our adult entertainers decide our needs for entertainment lay elsewhere?
If nothing else, Sid Ozalid demonstrates that our inner child is still with us and desperate for a giggle, and the mere fact he knows our tickly spot is enough to make us all the more tickly.
If there should ever be an Aberdeen Entertainers Hall of Fame, Sid Ozalid will be there. He will be neither a statue in the foyer, a framed picture on a wall, or a prized prop or instrument in a glass case. The broom cupboard will be as good a place as any to start your search, but when you track him down he will be possibly be represented by that item described within the spontaneous lyrics of a similarly strange and hilarious Scots band.
” I’ll perhaps take a piece of white bread and I’ll paint it brown so you think it is brown but when you toast it it’s actually white for the paint falls off “( from the album Hairy Scalloween by The Pendulums. )
Footnotes.
Mr Elastic Brain – The Life And Poems Of Sid Ozalid by Douglas John McLean Cairns is published by Chipmunka Publishingwhich specialises in giving a voice to people with mental health and other issues.
The profits from sales of Mr Elastic Brain are being donated to MIND – a leading mental health charity.
“We campaign vigorously to create a society that promotes and protects good mental health for all – a society where people with experience of mental distress are treated fairly, positively and with respect.” – http://www.mind.org.uk/
Aberdeen Voice will present a sample of Sid’s poetry in the coming weeks – if that’s OK with Sid, or Douglas, or both – so you can judge for yourselves should you miss all three performances in town this weekend.
Geesalaff Comedy Night Friday, May 27 at 8:00pm
Cellar 35, Rosemount Viaduct ( Sid onstage around 21.00pm )
Nivver myn The Duncin in Kyle Lit me tak ye back a fyle Fin on duncin I wis richt keen In the halls o’ Garlogie,Echt an’ Skene
Ye birled ti bands like Bert Duff Fin loons like me wid strut their stuff Some at duncin war fair fleet Ither eens they hid twa left feet
There wis ither bands like Mary Milne Fa hid ye waltzin wi great will Ye war up duncin an eichtsome reel Hoochin an skirlin like a feel
Maist couldna afford a motor car Bit they cam fae near an far Buses, bikes an usin their feet At wikkends they war nivver beat
Ye’d ask a quine up for a dance Roon an roon the hall ye’d prance Quicksteps, waltzes an foxtrots Sometimes yer feet war tied in knots
Great times ye hid tull near midnicht Some loons wid be an affa sicht Een or twa hid ower muckle booze The chunce o’ a date they wid lose
Duncin wis the time for ti chat Ither quines fa maybe cam fae Clatt Or deems fa bade up in Midmar Fower o’ them cam doon by car
Noo an again a fecht wid occur Like fin some feel wid cast a slur On the virtue o’ a local quine Oor dander wis then up ti ninety nine
We were aa Jock Tamson’s bairns Ti the duncin for tae learn Foo ti dee an eichtsome birl An aa the lassies wid hooch an skirl.
It is not unknown that in the Northeast there is now a considerable part of the population of Eastern and Central European descent.
The Shared Planet society have thus been inclined to host musical events, dance, music and cookery workshops, talks and possibly a photograph exhibition to bring the color of that culture to the Northeast for two weeks.
The series of events, organised by Shared Planet Society and supported by the Polish Soc, Lithuanian Soc, German Soc, Climate Change Project and Amnesty International, are more or less a warm effort to invoke cultural understanding and the idea of integration into our community.
Described as a sense experience, the events are intended to be colourful, musical, sumptuous and informative; a veritable tapestry of the Eastern European experience.
The collaboration of the diverse societies of Aberdeen University can be experienced at the communal club night, taking place on Friday the 18th of March in the Tunnels. The Eastern European Diversity Club Night offers a variety of music ranging from Balkan Beat, through Klezmer, traditional and modern Lithuanian vibes, Polish tunes to Estonian rock. Next to more interactive happenings at the Club Night and Polish and Romanian Cookery Workshops, the Fortnight offers six different talks informing different aspects of Central and Eastern European life, language, history and identity.
On the 23rd of March, there will be music workshops focusing on Balkan music and the tradition of Klezmer music and dance, which is essentially an ethnic Jewish tradition but undergoing revival in different forms such as jazz and modern folk music. The idea most prevalent in the Klezmer tradition is the expression of human emotions, from grief to joy, and it is ultimately a celebration of the joy of living.
Also on the 23rd, a Klezmer dance workshop will be followed by a concert, which marks one of the highlights of the Fortnight.
these are simply a demonstration of community feeling and warmth towards relatively new neighbours
The concert will be given by She’Koyokh, who describe themselves on their webpage as London’s “klezmer sensation”, performing Eastern European and Balkan folk music at international festivals and concert halls, performing lively and particularly vibrant music, one cannot resist dancing to.
A less raucous but nonetheless engaging element of the culture awareness week will be a series of talks by academics of various departments from the University of Aberdeen on the significance of understanding Central and Eastern cultural identity and history within the Northeast community.
One of the interests of the Shared Planet society is to nudge people into understanding the new element that exists within not only the Northeast, but the entire community in Scotland, an element that is rich in history, culture and taste.
These talks, along with the possibility of a photography exhibition titled “Scotland Through our Eyes” during the course of the fortnight, are simply a demonstration of community feeling and warmth towards relatively new neighbours. It will be a varied and sensual experience, aural, visual and for the sense of taste as well.
It is certainly worth picking one of these events to go to, even better to enjoy the whole experience.
For more info, click – http://www.abdn.ac.uk/motd/index.php?action=details&id=f39cbec1
A school is to be built in Cambodia in memory of N.E. mum Janie Evanswho passed away very suddenly in November 2009. As part of their efforts to fund this ambitious project, Emma Rothwell invites readers to “Come Along And Dance Us To Our Target At Janie’s School Ceilidh.”
Janie was a Peterheid quine who was very much devoted to her family and friends.
Her daughters, Paula and Jennifer, have inherited their Mum’s passion for education and are committed to not only building the school in her memory but financially supporting the school in future years.
The school will be built by American Assistance for Cambodia (funded through our donations to Hope Worldwide UK) who run a brilliant programme to develop schools in areas where they are most needed.
I first met Janie and the Evans family when they moved into a house round the corner from mine in 1986. I remember meeting Paula first, and she seemed nice but was a few years older than me. Paula told me she had a little sister who was the same age as me and sure enough we could just about see her lurking at the back of the garage, very shy! I’m glad Jennifer found the courage to venture out from the garage as we became firm friends, both in our childhood and into adulthood. Janie also became a constant in my life – her door was always open to a friend of Paula or Jennifer’s.
It is an honour to be supporting the family to fundraise for Janie’s School – I hope that the school will mean that children who might not have had the opportunity to attend school otherwise will get the same passion for education which Janie passed on to her family.
Janie’s School Ceilidh is being held at the Old Mill Inn, Maryculter on Friday 4th March from 8pm – midnight.
The event is part of a year long fundraising campaign which aims to raise £25,000.
Tickets cost £20 which includes stovies & oatcakes (vegetarian stovies available if requested in advance) and an evening of dancing to the Iron Broo Duo.
We would love to see as many of you as possible at Janie’s School Ceilidh. There will be a great raffle on the night, including some wonderful prizes donated by local business:
Gift vouchers for James Dunn House, Café 52, Moonfish Café, Malmaison, The Palace Hotel, The Happy Plant Garden Centre, Nova, The Ashvale
Golf lessons with Harry Dougal
A signed AFC football,
4 x tickets for the Aberdeen vs Hibs match,
A bottle of whisky (donated by Logica),
A photography session with prints from SP Life Photography,
A plant from Dobbies and, last but not least,
A side of smoked salmon from the Ugie Salmon House.
If you can’t make it along but would like to donate to help us reach our target of £25,000, please see www.justgiving.com/janies-school
If you would like more information on the campaign, have a look at Jennifer’s blog: janiesschool
Please purchase your tickets from Books & Beans or contact me by phone (07899891651) or e-mail (emma@robertrothwell.com)
Are Ye Dancin’?: The Story of Scotland’s Dance Halls – And How Yer Dad Met Yer Ma! – Eddie Tobin with Martin Kielty.
Apparently published 6 months ago, this seems to have a had a marketing push recently so the Voice’s David Innes hangs on grimly as erstwhile promoter Tobin’s history of Scottish dancehalls spins him and his two left feet around an over-slipperened dancefloor.
My favourite story about dancehalls isn’t included in Tobin’s memoirs of the heydays of small town ballrooms and city Locarnos.
Abridged, it concerns a Borders village school full of NE lorry drivers in the early 1960s pre-motorway days, billeted there temporarily for the weekend due to the A74’s closure by snow.
As all the boys wash and dress, apply Brylcreem and polish their shoes preparing to go to the Saturday night dance, one worthy, possibly a Charlie Alexander’s driver, is lying on his mattress, unshaven, smoking and reading the paper. When asked if he’s intending getting ready to demonstrate his slow-slow-quick-quick-slow prowess to the good burghers of Kirkpatrick Fleming, his response is, “Na na, I’m nae muckle o’ a dancer, but be sure and gie’s a shout eence the f***ing starts”.
To anyone who has ever smuggled a half bottle into the toilets at Aberlour’s Fleming Hall, who stood back in awe and no little fear as the Buckpool Boot Boys terrorised 1970s weekends in Cullen and Rothienorman, who “bonded” with a member of the opposite gender in the lanie behind St K’s, or who used the business end of a Guild Bass as an improvised bat as the missiles flew at a Grantown-Rothes contretemps at Archiestown (that Kabul to the locals), Are Ye Dancin’? will be like reading a diary of their mis-spent youth.
Although Tobin’s account of those supposedly-innocent days concentrates mainly on his own reminiscences of wheeling and dealing behind the scenes to promote his own acts, considerable space is given over to the personal anecdotes of agents, managers, patrons and performers from the heyday of dancehalls from post-war onwards, even touching on the modern club scene.
the ensuing three nights of frenetic frugging and torso-torturing twisting were looked forward to all week
In addition, despite much of the collection of memories focussing on palaces of hedonistic delight far removed from our own shared and blessed region of Scotland, the mere mention of Bapper Hendry and Albert Bonici and the premises and acts they guarded fiercely, will delight anyone of that era who ever had to transact with these two lovable but canny entrepreneurs.
The 60s and 70s dominate, a period during which, in the words of the opening credits to Friday evening’s Ready Steady Go, “the weekend starts here” and the ensuing three nights of frenetic frugging and torso-torturing twisting were looked forward to all week as social release by dance addicts holed up in offices and factories throughout the land.
It is a worthy companion piece to Torry’s own incorrigible rogue, Peter Innes’s, marvellous ‘Fit Like New York?’ although not nearly so in-depth or painstakingly-researched. Even at 180 pages, it’ll take no more than half a day to read and wallow in memories of the joys, sorrows and ever-present optimism of youth.
Glance down the index and assimilate the names of temples of weekend pleasure long gone, falling apart or still limping along and you’ll be back in ‘68, anticipating that sweaty crush, the hellishly-blended aroma of smoke, perfume, beer, hair oil, damp and nail varnish in the Broch’s Dalrymple Hall, the Railway Hall, Inverurie, St Congan’s in Turriff, Elgin’s classy Two Red Shoes or the Beach Ballroom itself.
As Wordsworth once wrote, possibly as he anticipated a Friday night huckle-bucking to The Lakes Showband at Grasmere Parish Hall,
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven.
Local band Iron Broo are returning to the Culter Club this Saturday for a night of festive fun and dancing.
Their Christmas Ceilidh night has become a popular annual feature in their hectic gig schedule and is a rare opportunity to catch the band in action at a public event. Most of the band’s gigs are private functions, weddings and corporate events; only a small number are open to the public and are often sold out. So don’t miss your chance to hear them.
Tickets have been selling well for the Christmas Ceilidh but there are still some available.
The Iron Broo ceilidh band have exported their particular style of Aberdonian ceilidh music all round the globe. In recent years they have been to Ireland, Netherlands, Latvia, Norway, Spain and even darkest Englandshire. They have also appeared no less than seven times at T in the Park.
“We’ve sailed the seven seas, fought a hundred battles, shed a thousand tears and lifted the spirits of millions …” said the bouzouki man Fred – tongue firmly in cheek.
Their only commercially available CD which was recorded Live at the Moray Ceilidh Club in Elgin is available through out the world on iTunes and is advertised as a best seller by Amazon.
The Culter Club is a private club and has one of the largest dance halls in the Aberdeen area. It also hosts regular dances throughout the year for members and their friends. It is always a risk having a Ceilidh out of the centre of the town but as the Christmas Ceilidh has become a regular event at Culter, there is a real sense of community spirit and the audience span the ages. Many locals brave the snow to make it to the ceilidh every year; and the band have also offered to assist in towing out anyone who happens to get caught in the snow in the car park after the gig!
So forget the forecast, ‘Snow’ good bidin’ at hame, ‘Skate’ on doon and keep warm in style!
There will be the fantastic Iron Broo M&S Christmas Hamper raffle and a special guest Ballroom DJ during the break giving some instruction to some ballroom classics. Iron Broo will also call all the ceilidh dances so even if you have never been to a ceilidh before they promise to have you ‘jiggin’ awa furiously in nae time!’
There will be a bar available for various refreshments.
Christmas Ceilidh Saturday 18th December 2010 The Culter Club, Cairn Road, Peterculter. 01224 733578
Doors will be open from 7.30pm and dancing will start around 8pm.
Tickets £10 adults – £4 under 16 – Free to under 6.
Seating reservations available with advance bookings (call Charlie 07802 861390). Tickets also available on the door.
As a very mature student of the Open University my first encounter with an OU disco was a stark reminder that although youth is wasted on the young, only they have the energy to give it a good airing.
The night started well enough. Anita and Liz were on their third flagon of Pimms Number One by the time I arrived. I was just wondering how far out I should push the boat — would I start with a small Cinzano and work myself up to a pre-bed cocoa around ten or cast caution to the wind and line up thirty quid’s worth of randomly selected shots and let rip?. I was intoxicated by the choice.
Anyway, I must have gone down the ‘Let ‘em Rip’ route because less than an hour later I found myself asking Caroline to marry me by shouting in her ear during a 90 decibel rendering of some nonsense by Justin Trouser-Snake. She declined of course but she will have to live with that decision for decades after I’ve been fitted with the wooden boiler-suit and chucked into a hole in the ground back in my home village.
To alleviate the pain of Caroline’s refusal I concentrated on Katie and tried to work out where on Earth she was getting her energy from. She was dancing as if she’d just got out of Pankhurst prison on remand and the wanton abandon with which she now thrashed her arms about was a condition of her bail. Had she somehow managed to access an energy source known only to the ancients? Was she in possession of a rogue batch of ultra-concentrated Lucozade Sport?
I ran out of hypotheses to explain Katie’s adrenalin levels around the same time I ran out of steam and it was time to go before I asked Caroline to marry me again, just in case she hadn’t understood the question the first time around. I slipped away quietly, as I tend to do on these occasions, knocking over a table of drinks and falling downstairs on my way out.
Sadly, the night came too suddenly to a close. I had waited faithfully for the Disk Johnny, or whatever they call those fellows who crank the handle on the radiogramme at social functions nowadays, to play a long playing record I recognised. When finally he laid hands on ‘Can’t Touch This’ at a quarter to two in the morning, I ran all the way back to my chalet and dug out my special edition MC Hammer dancing trousers. But by the time I got back the dance hall was as empty as a church on a Saturday night. I skulked back to my chalet and fell into bed. But not before I spent an hour or so trying to take my MC Hammer trousers off over my head. In Scottish culture, this is a sure sign of a great night out.
