Watercooler 0: Nothing Is A Problem For Me

JB, this folk dancing was in Bethnal Green so it was full of cute hipster girls and young nu folk types. I danced with a floppy-haired pointy-nosed friend of Ed's and he didn't even complain when I stepped on his toes!

(I am the world's worst dancer, but my god, I don't let that spoil my enjoyment of it.)

nah, it just reminds me that it's Monday morning ;)

problem w/ilm for me is that I've said it all by now, and anything I post is just re-re-re-re-repeating myself.

My brother just asked me what I want for Xmas. I feel like writing back and saying I don't do Winter Consumerfest. Or asking for something that will really wind him up, since he was so rude about my mum's Xmas present.

You danced with Henry is lovely, if bumbling, and has really hot sisters. I think Canadian lodge is becoming one of my favourite dances a proper mixup dance.

Damn my country pumpkin roots! Why can't I got to folk dances with cuteness, instead of folk dances with beardy old men covered in last year's cider and inbred country types that look like extras in an english remake of Oh Brother where art thou?

Xmas presents - Ug! I've never been good at presents. As a child we didn't really DO presents in our house, so I haven't got in ingrained that I have to buy people things (I'm the same at b'days). As such, the whole thing seems like such a chore - I'd rather just go round and see people that I want to see and bake them cakes.

Problem is, I never remember the *names* of the dances I like! That over-and-under one is great! Everyone gets tied in knots.

I think the other one I really like is called Riverside - is that the one where the top two couples run down the room yelling "Charge!" and you have to duck before they take your heads off?

Plus, it's got doe-si-doeing in it.

Riverside is the decapitation dance, I've done that one with 120 people in a field

Canadian Lodge is the go fast bum bumping dance

There were lots of men last night - just none of them would get on the dancefloor - they hung back behind us, looking at the girls.

x-post - Waves of Tory? Ah, so that's why they were talking about Ireland!

Is Canadian Lodge the one that goes round in a big circle? I've yet to dance that one, I always end up deciding to sit out a round before it comes up.

I can't imagine we'd have the energy to go dancing after a rolling London walk.

they had real hay, too, not that rubbish fiberglass stuff.

Ugh, Gooblar, I think that's the kind of thing that put me off formal dances for ages. That whole "you have to ask a partner" thing which is just rubbish. It's far easier and less pressure to just have everyone turn up, whether they have a date or not, and have fun as they chose. (Which is what they did at my high school - I never had so much as a friend date in all three years there.)

Should I start with a cheap violin while I'm re-learning the instrument, on the offchance that I get bored with it, in which case I've only really wasted £50/£60.

Or should I go for a better quality, prettier (I'm looking at lovely purple electric violins from Hobgoblin) violin which will tempt me to play more, and be more performance-ready when I get up to speed?

But there are some mid-range violins at about £250/£300. Electric ones (I'm pretty sure that I'd rather have one with a built-in pickup rather than fiddling (heh) about with installing mine own).

Was this like a school orchestra thing, or proper playing?

I only ever played violin as part of a school orchestra when I was, like, 10. I liked it, but I kept trying to play my brother's cello instead. (He's tone deaf and couldn't make head nor tail out of it.)

Hello! Look around you!

I don't think so.

Where on earth would I keep it?

I was first clarinet in the Grimsby and District Youth Orchestra, back in the day.

I got yer email, FP, I will look after hours.

I went into town to buy my suit for the xmas works party, and I've come out with a beautiful tuxedo for only £130! I now have to learn to tie a bow tie, which I'm sure can't be as hard as I think it is.

Can we have pictures of you in the Tux, JB? Please?

I dunno, I tend to take the view that if I spend a lot of money on something, I tend to use it more, in an attempt to get my moneys worth out of it.

I just wonder if it's something that would be substantially cheaper in the US with their worthless monopoly money. And since I have relations coming over, soon...