We got back just in time to catch the dancing session at the Wolfson College Burn's Night Céilidh.
"What's a Céilidh?" you ask. Well, according to Wikipedia,
a céilidh (pronounced "kay-lee") is a social event or disco, typically with Celtic music and dancing. The word céilidh is Irish and Scottish Gaelic for 'visit', denoting the event's origin as an informal, home gathering.
Burns Night Supper is an evening on which Scottish people attend to commemorate the life of Robert Burns, a poet and balladeer. (You probably don't know it but Robert Burns wrote the lyrics to "Auld Lang Syne".) There is usually a supper, a poetry reading, and some dancing. A traditional Burns supper includes haggis, neeps, tatties, and whisky. I was keen to try the haggis but Sameer was more skeptical. In the end, it was a non-issue because we got back too late for dinner. According to the other Sainsbury peeps, the haggis was a bit "different" so maybe it was for the best. Although they did say that the recital of Burns' poetry (another tradition) that they did before dinner was served, was really great.
Anyway. We arrived at the Clubroom to find it packed with people. I don't know where all those people were from. A lot were from Wolfson and I know more than a few were from Corpus Christi but I think generally if you paid, they let you in. There were a large number of men in kilts and girls in tartan skirts. There was also a Scottish band comprised of two fiddlers, an accordian player, and a guy on the bodhrán. And then there was a dance instructor, who explained all the dances and then lead you through it with lines like "Couple one meet in the middle, round the side and do-see-do! Girls go up and boys go down, grab your partner, swing around!" Liesel George once called Sameer a "joiner". Well, we joined. And here's a picture to prove it.
3 comments:
Hey, you guys did the dance - cool! I asked Joseph now if he knew what "Céilidh" means, and I even gave the pronunciation, but he didn't know. Afterward he recognized it, but claimed the "dh" at the end must be the Scottish spelling ;) Then after reading this comment, he googled it, just to prove his spelling is right too (which Wikipedia confirms), hehe.
Hey, that's cool! Has he been to any in Ireland? Is it quite common or just something that traditional, dress-up-inclined people do? I really enjoyed it and was quite thrilled that Sameer decided to join in. He's usually not much of a dancer. But I think the prevailing vibe that night was one of "Hang it all - let's try!"
In the west of Ireland they are common enough but there are the odd few pubs in Dublin that do them - would you believe that there's one pub that does it and it's called the "O'Donoghue" pub :D
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