News
Printed on: 13th December 2024 - 14:33.
Don & Sally-Ann visit our club
31st October
Having seen on our website that we would be dancing on Thursday, Don from Massachusetts, USA, contacted us, to say that he and Sally-Ann would be travelling to the UK, and were going to be nearby on 31st October. I replied and said that they would be welcome to join us, and then forgot to mention that they would be coming, so it was a surprise for us (and probably for them... when they saw our us in our gruesome attire!). John went on to explain that we don't usually look like this, it's just because it's Halloween
.
It turns out that Don is a Square Dance caller, and has been for 40 years! So, he offered to call for us, as well them both joining in. There was plenty of food on offer, as we'd decided to have a table-top pot luck, and a good time was had by all. We were pleased to meet Don and Sally-Ann and thanks to Don, for calling.
Pot Luck & Raffle
25th July
We finished for the summer, with our usual Pot Luck & Raffle evening. We were pleased to welcome Amy (one of our founding members) for the evening. Thanks to everyone that came along and supported us, with food and raffle prizes. We raised £38 for club funds.
Enjoy the summer break, and we'll look forward to seeing you again soon. We're back on Friday 6th September, when Alan will be calling. You can see our programme here.
Carina visits our club
18th July
Leah contacted us, to say that she had a friend from Germany staying with her, and she would like to join us on our club night. Leah met Carina when she attended a square dance convention in Germany.
Although Carina belongs to her local square dance club, she was representing Lion Squares, which are a national group of young dancers.
New Dancers
7th June
We were pleased to welcome Kenn Sutton and Maureen Willis to Blue Diamonds this week. Kenn and Maureen are former members of Stourbridge Squares, and experienced plus dancers, but as their club has now closed, they opted venture north and join us for the evening.
Every caller is different... and Alan certainly likes to be different! But hopefully we haven't put them off, and look forward to them joining us again soon (along with anyone else that would like to come to our club).
Visitors from the USA
28th March
Celia and her son David, who live in New Jersey, joined us on a damp Thursday evening, to sample American Square Dancing in England. The following, is Celia's account of their visit:
My son and I feel incredibly fortunate to have recently returned from an unforgettable trip to England! One of the highlights of our adventure was attending not one, not two, but three, square dances at three different clubs! 💃🕺 We were warmly welcomed by the friendly locals, and had a blast dancing the night away. I love that we made new friendships with the nicest folks who were kind enough to offer us rides, tea at their house, taking us out for dinner, offering us traveling tips and more.
It was a bit challenging to visit the Blue Diamonds Square Dance Club in Stone, UK, but David and I did it. After a two-hour journey from where we were, and three trains later, we arrived in the quaint town of Stone. We were greeted by Nigel, the club's secretary, and his son, Edward, with a sign in hand with our names on it. Ah, that's our ride! Terribly difficult to figure out which door is the passenger side and which is the driver's, but we managed. 🙂 We had a fabulous dinner at Wetherspoons, who are in an old post office building in town. Once again, I love the architecture and history of these old stone buildings. My fish and chips were perfect!!
At the dance, we were welcomed by all and heard many stories of members' connections with the US. Some have vacationed here, some know others who live here, others had taken business trips in America. Edward has a number of American friends he has met through his passion of origami crafting, which he seems to have mastered and was working on a project while we were there. Everyone has a story and I enjoy listening to them all.
Although, there was a lot of chattering, there was also much dancing. Caller, Alan, kept us up turning, twirling and promenading. Thanks to Edward for being our travel advisor and keeping track of time. He worked out our train schedule which included the last train of the night. We did not want to miss that! Nigel once again drove us to the train station, but the second one (Stafford), so we didn't have switch so many times. Phew! We made it back to the hotel by midnight and were wiped!! Until next time, Blue Diamonds
...
P.S. You'll find a complete record of Celia and David's visit (including a few candid pictures of Blue Diamonds members) here.
A Thank-you from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust
23rd January
Below, is an image of the thank-you letter we received from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, following our our Give Care Not Cards
appeal.
You can also view/download a (screen readable) PDF version of this letter, by selecting the above image.
Changes to BAASDC Constitution
13th January
As you may know, our club is affiliated to the British Association of American Square Dance Clubs (BAASDC). This means that we are able to keep in touch with the association and other clubs, via the monthly 'Let's Square Dance' magazine. We also benefit in other ways, e.g. favourable rates on Public Liability Insurance etc.
On 13th January, an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held via Zoom. The purpose of the meeting, was to vote to accept the proposed changes to the BAASDC Constitution, as previously notified to all members... These changes, would allow future meetings to be held via Zoom and permit decisions to be made with a reduced quorum etc.
20 clubs were represented at the meeting (including Blue Diamonds), 13 voted in favour (65% majority) and the changes were accepted.