Name
of Organisation: St. Ronan’s Scottish Country Dance Club
Main Objectives: To promote and preserve our heritage of Scottish Country
Dancing. To encourage beginners and experienced dancers from the age
of 16 to 80+ to share the enjoyment of Scottish Country Dancing. To
welcome new members and visitors and introduce them to Scottish Country
Dancing
Name of Main Contact: Mrs Julia Sharp
Address of Main Contact: Schoolhouse, 73 Leithen Road, Innerleithen,
EH44 6HY
Telephone of Main Contact: 01896 830637
Email of Main Contact: None
Name of Second Contact: Mr John Knox
Address of Second Contact: Glenavich, 16 Leithen Mills, Innerleithen,
EH44 6JJ
Telephone of Second Contact: 01896 831180
Email of Second Contact: None
Organisation’s Web Site: None
Main Activities: Weekly meetings each Wednesday in Autumn and Winter
school term. Annual Dance on second Friday in November. Annual charity
Dance on third Friday in March. Annual open-air Dance on Saturday afternoon
in August. Series of five fortnightly dances in Peebles in July and
August. Providing team of dancers to entertain pensioners’ groups.
Supporting similar clubs in other towns by attending their open dances.
Meeting Place:
St. Ronan’s Primary School
Meeting Times Contact: See above
How to join Contact: See above
Important dates: See above.
Other Information: The Club celebrated twenty-five years of existence
in 2002 and is now one of the, if not the, biggest in the Scottish Borders
with forty to fifty members. Unlike most of the S.C.D. clubs and classes
in the Borders, this Club has many men members though the ladies are
still in the majority. Members are attracted from a wide area stretching
from beyond Peebles to Galashiels. One year we even had a couple who
continued to attend weekly even when they had moved to the Moffat area.
The Club meets in
St Ronan's School Hall on Wednesday evenings from 7.30 to 9.30 during
the autumn and winter period from late September to late March with
a break over the Christmas holidays. The current subscription is ?10
per term which works out at ?1 per night for two hours entertainment
with tea and biscuit included at the interval. This must count as a
very good bargain.
Our aim is to promote
and preserve our heritage of Scottish Country Dancing and the dances
we do are Scottish Country Dances as taught all over the world with
the emphasis on enjoyment. We cater for beginners and experienced dancers
from the age of 16 to 80+ and new members and visitors are always welcome.
The Club each year
runs three Dances to which members of other clubs are invited - one
Dance on the second Friday in November, a Charity Dance on the third
Friday in March and an Open-Air Dance on a Saturday afternoon in August.
Each club or class in the Border area runs an Open Dance with a live
band and these dances follow a regular pattern usually avoiding clashes
of dates.
St Ronan's Club
members also run a series of five fortnightly Summer Dances in Peebles,
beginning on the Wednesday after the Beltane celebrations. These are
mainly for the benefit of visitors, and have attracted many appreciative
comments from overseas visitors who enjoy the opportunity not only to
watch but also to take part in Scottish dances. Profits from these summer
dances, usually rounded up from Club funds to a suitable sum, are donated
to a children's charity. Over the past seven years, thanks to the generosity
of members and friends, the Club has been able to donate a total of
over four and a half thousand pounds to charities. These include several
Departments at the Borders General Hospital, the Arthritis Research
Campaign, the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, the Children's Hospice
(Scotland), the Sick Kids' Hospital Orthopaedic Loan Fund, the St Ronan's
Clinic Equipment Fund, F.A.C.E. (the Fight Against Cancer in Edinburgh
and South East Scotland), the Christian Aid Children in Africa Appeal,
and, most recently, the Tweeddale Branch of Riding for the Disabled,
as well as (a smaller amount) to the Sir Jimmy Shand Statue Fund.
In addition to the
weekly club meetings the Club provides a team of dancers to entertain
in Old Folks' Homes, Pensioners' Clubs etc., and has taken part in events
such as Traquair Fair and Innerleithen Fun Day locally and the Glasgow
Garden Festival further afield. Individual members of the Club, on holiday,
have danced with other clubs in different parts of Canada, Australia,
South Africa and Europe and would welcome the opportunity to return
the hospitality they received should any overseas visitors make contact.
