Dec 7, 2009 | Dance!
Mons Meg in Action
Mons Meg went down to Selkirk yesterday for the annual Scott’s Selkirk celebrations. We danced in the Market Square -twice, on the stage up the County Hotel Pend, in the Town Inn Bar and in the Cross Keys. We had as good a time as last year – possibly slightly better because it was a little warmer this year (though not much)
Although there are obvious problems with dancing on a sloping tarmac surface in the rain (as in the Market Square) we were particularly pleased to succesfully run out both of our dances, thus allowing us to do a longer spot.
The Winlaton Dance (our “second” dance) is now a firm favourite for me. It is shorter and less complex than our number one dance but very satisfying when you get it right for its speed and economy of movement. Judging by the video clip we have of one of our performances of Winlaton we still have work to do to get it absolutely slotting into place like greased gears. It’s getting there though and the audiences were appreciative which is good.
The Bar of the Town Arms, Selkirk
Although that was our second visit to Selkirk, I do not feel that we’ve actually got to know the town at all. It seems like a standard Borders market town and it probably is, but we’ve only seen it (and inside most of its pubs) on a town gala day which isn’t really representative. Like many small towns, though, it seems to have quite a bustling and thriving amateur arts scene going on (they provided our musicians for us yesterday) and I have to say that were I to live in Selkirk I would probably spend time in the Town Arms (pictured) which is a nice traditional pub with Stewart’s Ale on tap.
Oct 10, 2009 | Dance!
Lurking outside the Windsor Buffet
Out last night for a Mons Meg crawl down Leith Walk! We had danced part of the Walk previously and so tonight we were aiming to cover off those parts which other dances had not reached, notably a couple which are in Edinburgh’s gay triangle.
We started in Mather’s at the top of Broughton Street where we also had some tasty birthday cake baked by Trina. Quite a good first dance on a good wooden floor and also, we found out, a former member of Jenny Geddes Morris in the pub as well. Next up, the Theatre Royal Bar, next to the Playhouse (where Riverdance is the current attraction). This wasn’t a bad dance either although a slippy marble floor made it a challenge.
The evening moved on through the Elm Bar, the Windsor Buffet then Priscilla’s, the Victoria and The Boda Bar (the latter two being places where we had danced before). Every pub we danced in had its own piece of magic and the clientelle were wonderfully accommodating and appreciative in all of them. However it is worth picking out Priscilla’s for special mention.
Priscilla's Cabaret Bar
Priscilla’s proudly advertises itself as Edinburgh’s leading transvestite and drag queen cabaret bar (although since it is, to the best of my knowledge, the only such venue in Edinburgh, that is an easy claim to make). It was a very good place to dance though and we had a particularly warm reception. I have to say, mind, that I hadn’t previously considered Rapper to be a mass audience participation event. It was also one of the few places in town where walking in wearing costume and asking if they would mind if we gave them a quick sword dance would raise not an eyebrow. It really turned what was an entertaining night into one which will linger in the memory as being a bit of a special one.
The last two dances were quite good in cramped circumstances (stuffed crocodile anyone?) and, thanks to late licences, we probably did the last dance about 12.30 or so.
The craic was ninety too – somehow Lys got onto reminiscing about her days as a doctor in the Accident and Emergency Dept and the odder foreign bodies to be found in patients’ rectums, vibrating eggs and a lightbulb (inserted thin end first) being amongst the more memorable. John and I found ourselves in complete agreement that Shane MacGowan’s “The Broad Majestic Shannon” is a masterpiece of songwriting and there was more which I will, no doubt, remember as soon as I’ve finished typing this.
Aug 2, 2009 | Dance!
Friday and Saturday were Mons Meg-heavy.
Friday saw us doing a tour of pubs from Newington inwards towards the centre of Edinburgh. We had never danced along there before and managed seven dances with three knock-backs (including one which I enjoyed – “Christ no! If you started dancing the customers would too..”).
The first dance, in The Reverie was a good one and that gave us a lot of confidence for the night and I think only the last dance of the night, by which time we had had one or two beers, was the only dodgy one. We discovered a great pub of which we were previously unaware – The Maltings on St. Leonards Street – and also danced in The Southsider, The Greenmantle (nice that it’s got its old name back), Sandy Bell’s, The Doctors and back to The Maltings. All were pubs with decent beer, which was deadly.
Sandy Bell’s was an odd one. We had a very tight space to dance, which we managed, and the landlord gave us a round on the house which was great. The session players were accommodating which was nice of them. There were one or two oddballs in the audience though, including one who loftily advised us that “we don’t do dancing in here”. As I have been there on a previous occasion when The Kingsmen danced there I’m afraid the curse of the Black Swan demolishes her argument.
No Andy on Friday so I did the calling on songs myself which meant that when I awoke on Saturday morning I had a throat like gravel (as well as the strangest feeling, as though I had consumed several beers…). But Saturday saw a full day Mons Meg training session.
This was also great fun even though we were all tired I think. We worked hard on getting the Winlaton dance sorted out although we still need to sort out the ending. We experimented with finishing with a backlock, which I think shows promise, although not all agree with me! We shall see. The dance itself is about ready except for that ending. We also had a new musician along playing small pipes and that was good, although it took a while for him to get used to us and settle on some tunes. I realy enjoyed it but came home last night and fell asleep on the settee, waking up just in time to go to bed!
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