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JULY & AUGUST 2008 July was birthday time at Crossroads. We had a great night with lots of visits from various clubs. Thanks to all the visiting dancers and callers. We enjoyed calling from Janice, Mike, and Ralph, and cueing fom Pat & Adrian. Thanks also to those who came along and helped set up the hall and to Eileen for making the cake. We made over $100 from the raffle on the night - money to be donated to "Relay for Life". Congratulations to Tony on the birth of his new grandson up in Queensland. Thanks to everyone who helped deliver fliers to approximately 2000 homes in the area. Thanks also to the dancers who were able to help us out for the photo shoot one Sunday morning. We have now started our beginners at Crossroads and we welcome along to our new dancers. We have had 4 weeks with them and they are coming along well. We have now closed the intake and will concentrate on teaching the mainstream program. Southern Cross Plus has been going very well and the jackpot keeps getting bigger until someone pulls out the ace. Well done to Greg for collecting around $70. Dont forget to get your ticket as you come in the door. In September SCP will be celebrating our 18th birthday (can you believe that) so mark the diary for that one. It has been great to have not only Adrian cueing at SCP, but also Carol is now cueing there. Thanks to them for helping to provide the variety at the club. Southern Cross A has been thriving as well. We have been working on the "all 4 couples's" concepts and workshopping some other interesting movements. We wish all those on our sickie list a speedy recovery and all those heading off on holidays an enjoyable time and safe return. The VSDA AGM was a good day out in Ferntree Gully, although there were not too many callers on the program, the dancers seemed to have a good time. The Night of Dancing & Entertainment was a terrific night raising over $4000 for the RCH Oncology Ward. Thank you to everyone who purchased a raffle ticket, attended the evening, bought an auction item, entered the Whiskey Slide (congrats to Mary) or gave a donation. This was a fantastic effort and shows the generosity of square dancers. Thank you. APRIL, MAY & JUNE 2008 Lots of things have been happening during the past three months. Brenda & I, along with Mike & Lorraine Davey, have had a wonderful holiday in the USA and Canada. This included a tour through the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the Rocky Mountaineer and a cruise to Alaska aboard the Westerdam. Boy did we have a great time. While we were away, David Brown ran Crossroads, Janice ran Southern Cross Plus and Peter Davies ran Southern Cross A. Everyone told us they had a great time with while we were away, not sure I like to hear that. Thanks a heap to David, Janice and Peter for helping me out with the clubs, I really appreciate it. When we returned from of trip, we flew into Brisbane to attend the National Convention. It was great to catch up with a few dancers while we were there, including our friends from around Australia. After the National we continued down to the Gold Coast to attend the ACF Minilab which was three days of caller seminars and eating. It was great. On our return to Melbourne we were soon back into the swing of things at club. Initially our numbers were a bit low as some dancers were still heading back from the Convention. Eventually everyone was back on deck and we have had some great nights back dancing. MARCH 2008 Hi there once again, boy doesn't time get away from you. We have been back dancing over a month. The recent State Convention was a great weekend despite the hot weather. It was nice to receive an award from the VCA for 25 years of club calling. Mike & Denice have been away for a couple of weeks touring New Zealand, it was nice to see them back at club. We were saddened to hear of the passing of Hugh from Sovereign City, he was always a supporter of Crossroads and he will be missed. The jackpot finally went off at SCP with Ray receiving over $150 and the very next night it went off again. We were way down on numbers in the early part of March due mainly to a 40 degree day. Dancers had had quite a bit of the heat at the Convention, so I guess the 40 degree day turned them off, I don't blame them. Bev is off to the US for 5 weeks so we won't see her at dancing for a while, have a safe and fun trip. SCA's 10th birthday was a very low key event. Our regular bunch of dancers came along to enjoy a bit of fun and lots of supper. Thanks to all who brought supper for us to share. OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2007 Hi all, I must have blinked and missed October & November. They have flown past me this year at a rate of knots. I guess my work trip to Dubai took up most of October and some of November. I would like to send a big thank you to Mike Davey, Janice Alexander, David Brown and Peter Davies for running the club during my time away. Mike, Janice and David did the calling at SCP & Crossroads and from all reports these nights were very well received. Peter ran SCA using mini disks and CD's. This too from feedback was well received and Peter will be taking up the reins again next year when I am O/S in May. During November we had the VSDA Dinner Dance, for the past few years the weather has been very warm for the Dinner Dance and this year was no exception. The hall was quite hot and uncomfortable for dancing, well for me it was, so I just enjoyed catching up with everyone and telling tales of my experiences in Dubai, and there were plenty. Christmas will be upon us shortly and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the dancers for their support throughout the year. I would also like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year and look forward to catching up with you all on the dance floor in 2008. Howard Cockburn |
