JWG

We went dancing - Contra or English - on 90 days or nights in 2019
- I might be off by one or two days

22 nights at Gender Free English Country Dance in JP
16 nights at Gender Free Contra Dance in JP
19 nights at BIDA Contra Dance in Cambridge
8 nights at Challenging Contras at the Scout Houe in Concord , MA
3 nights at Harvard Square English in Cambridge
6 days/nights at LCFD Dance Camps in Woodstock, CT and Becket, MA
3 days/nights at the Dance Flurry in Saratoga Springs, NY
3 days/nights at NEFFA in Mansfield, MA
2 nights at Thursday night Contra Dance in Concord, MA
1 night at Village Contra in NYC
1 day/night at the Peterborough, NH Snowball
3 days/nights at Beantown Stomp in Cambridge
1 night at the New Years Eve Contra Dance in Concord (+ a few minutes of the 2018 one)
1 night at the English Gala in Concord

And we are starting 2020 off on a roll. A few minutes this morning at the New Years Eve dance in Concord, Challenging Contra on Friday in Cocord, Saturday night at the English Gala in Concord, and Sunday night at BIDA in Cambridge.

In our houses in Cambridge and Gloucester
Hampton Inn in Saratoga Springs, NY for the Dance Flurry
Airport hotel in San Juan
Guana Island resort in the BVI
Chelsea Pines Inn in NYC
YMCA Camp Woodstock for LCFD Spring Dance Camp
Iceland Air Flight 630: BOS-Keflavik
Apotek Hotel in Rekjavik
Le Champlain - circumnavigating Iceland
Stanford Terrace Inn in Palo Alto for the motss con
Chimney Corners YMCA Camp in Becket, MA for LCFD Fall Dance Camp

Last night we went to The Christmas Revels in Sanders Theater in Cambridge. What a great show as usual. This one was 1930's American - usually a different theme each year, last year's was Nordic. The cast includes a number of groups - some constructed for this show, others who have their own existence. Being there brought to mind a lot of nostalgic thoughts. Lots of audience particpation in singing old Revels favorites or other well known things (the music and words were in the program and they turned on the house lights). The end of Act One involves singing Lord of the Dance and then the audience getting out of their seats and dancing their way into the lobby.



This is the 49th year of the Cambridge Revels. There are 18 performances this year and also in 8 other cities. When it first started there were only 3 or 5 and only in Cambridge.

Some of the nostalgia is related to the distant past. I was in an early music group called the Quadrivium (no longer in existence). In 1979 and one other year we were part of the Revels and once also performed in the Hanover, NH show. I remember that December - between the Cambridge and Hanover rehearsals and shows and the rehearsals and concerts of our own I think I had something just about every day for 3 weeks in December.

The Stage director and one of the script writers is Paddy Swanson. Paddy worked with the Quadrivium for a few concerts. And one weekend we all went up to the farm where he was custodian and did lots of music.

Since this was an early American theme there was lots of folk music incljding some very fine banjo playing. In 1959-1961 I was a counselor at a summer camp, Camp Killooleet, and there was lots of folk music there (the camp was run by John Seeger, Pete's brother). I bought a used banjo then and I still have it. It isn't in vey good shape and I can't really play it anymore, but...

And yet some more old stuff seen in Djúpivogur. I missed the icebergs...
Click below for pictures

Two old Singer Sewing machines seen in a museum in Djúpivogur, Iceland. And the part of one that is holding up my desk at home. I also have one holding up a table in Gloucester.

Walking about Djúpivogur, a port on the southeast side of Iceland.

Click below for pictures:

And of course some stuff in a museum (click below for pictures):

On the morning of August 6th on our trip to Iceland was a visit to the Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon. I was feeling a bit under the weather so elected to not go because it involved a long bus trip among other things. Robert rsc went and took pictures.

The boat docked in the harbor of Djúpivogur, a village on the southeast coast of Iceland. While Robert was off on the tour I did go into town and among other thiogs saw lots of old stuff in a museum.

Click below for photos:

Wandering thorough the Technical Museum in Seyðisfjörður (Iceland) I saw a bunch of old telephone equipment.

Click below for a few photos:

We then (Aug 5) went to the Seyðisfjörður Technical Museum which had a great collection of old stuff.

Click for pictures:

On August 5th we docked in Seyðisfjörður, a port on the east side of Iceland. The first things we did was to walk through the town to the Blue Church where we were entertained by a couple of musicians.

Click below for some pictures:


And a video:
.