The Katherine Jacobs Trust

It was hard to believe that our second Ceilidh for the Katherine Jacobs Trust was about to begin. The first one was held in March 2008. Our concerns that we might have sold too few tickets disappeared rapidly as the village hall in Quorn, Leicestershire began to fill up. The Trust's friends and supporters were soon drinking bucks fizz and the atmosphere was warm and welcoming.

Charlie Corcoran, our caller, burst onto the scene a few minutes later, fresh from a Lord Mayor’s event at which Leicester Morris Men were dancing. Charlie's arrival, dressed in traditional Morris whites and sporting an impressive coloured coat, set the scene beautifully. There is something very important about the first dance of the evening. Charlie said that he wanted "everyone on the floor" and that’s just what happened!

That set the pattern for the next few hours, as people moved, often in harmony but sometimes in chaos, around the room. Charlie is a wonderful caller and he has the ability to leap off the stage, point people in the right direction, demonstrate if necessary, and then be back on stage whilst talking into his headset and controlling the music at the same time.

The first half absolutely flew by, and we were soon helping ourselves to an excellent buffet prepared by Jenny, Jenny and Sarah (and expertly served by Dean and Martin). The buffet tasted really good and our visitors said so, lots of times. Jenny’s cupcakes rounded off a lovely meal and, although people said that they could not dance another step, they did, and the dancing began again.

Meanwhile, most of the raffle ticket envelopes had been snatched up and people were eagerly claiming their prizes. These had been generously donated by many well-wishers. Tony had put a lot of work into the raffle and it was good to note that the proceeds exceeded £200. In addition, a nifty bit of auctioneering, by the ever-versatile, Tony, resulted in an additional £40 being added to the kitty as Messrs Hawthorne and Lindeman attempted to outbid each other for a top prize - afternoon tea on the terrace at the House of Commons with MP. Andy Reed.

After all the excitement, it was back to the dancing, with ‘Strip the Willow’ providing lots of action and confusion on the dance floor. For me, the most rewarding part of the evening, was to encounter many young friends of Jenny, Dean, Pete and Sarah, and to see Martin and Karen, obviously enjoying what, to them, would be a fairly atypical evening out. Some even claimed it was better than going to a party or a disco! What an achievement!

Planning the Ceilidh, setting up the room, decorating tables, arranging flowers, preparing food for 80 people, serving it, washing up, clearing up, and dancing as well, can be really hard work. I'd like to thank all the Jacobs family, including Sheena who, although unable to attend the event, had done her usual preparation beforehand; Tony, who works wonders with the raffle and is always there to lend a helping hand; and Jenny, Alan's next door neighbour, who prepared some excellent food and offered lots of support to Jenny and Sarah.

Finally, I'd like to thank all our friends and supporters who attended the Ceilidh and made it so successful. It was great fun; we made some money for the Trust (Alan will give details elsewhere); and Kathy would have enjoyed it! In total, the evening raised over £800!