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Wembley and District Scottish Association New Year Social 2015
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Caroline's Soup Evening Held at Church of the Ascension, The Avenue, Wembley from 8pm on Monday 5th January 2015. Once again Caroline's Soup Kitchen will be opening up for another evening of culinary delights. The programme of dances has been inspired by an historic event that will take place later this year. 2015 should be a very significant year in the long history of the monarchy. On September 9th, all being well, Elizabeth II will overtake Victoria as our longest reigning monarch. In anticipation of this historic event, each of the dances will have a connection (often quite tenuous!) with one of the top 10 reigning monarchs of England, Scotland or the UK - and to make it more challenging, we will dance them in descending order of their length of reign. The one exception will be our current Queen Elizabeth II, who will have the honour of inspiring the last dance of the evening (despite currently being in second place in the table). A clue to each dance is given with each monarch: 1. Victoria (63 years, 216 days) The connection is a viewpoint
that overlooks Loch Tummel in Perthshire often thought to commemorate Queen
Victoria’s visit in 1866. However, it is more widely believed to have been
named after Queen Isabella, wife of Robert the Bruce, who used the spot as a
resting place on her travels. Fairly straightforward this one - Queen's View 3.
George III (59 years, 96 days) Famous for bouts of insanity, a
popular misconception was that George suffered from porphyria, a physical,
genetic blood disorder which caused his erratic behaviour. However in recent
years a new research project based at St George’s University of London, has
concluded that George III did actually suffer from mental illness. Another fairly obvious one - Midsummer Madness 4.
James VI of Scotland (57 years, 246 days) Ascending the Scottish throne
at the tender age of 13 months on the abdication of his mother, Mary Queen of
Scots, his uncle James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray was appointed as
his regent. It has to be The Moray Rant 5. Henry III of England (56 years 29 days) Due to an administrative error, Henry got left off my first list so we don't have a dance specifically for him. However, he ruled at the same time as William I of Scotland and the pivotal figure mentioned below, William Marshall, was also a key figure in Henry's reign, leading his forces at the battles of Lincoln and Sandwich in 1217 during the First Barons' War. So we'll do the dance below for both rulers. No dance for poor old Henry so he shared William I of Scotlands 6.
Edward III of England (50 years, 147 days) Edward’s reign was ravaged by
the Black Death between 1349 and 1353, then again from 1360 to 1363. It is
believed that a quarter of England’s population died during those two
outbreaks. The Black Mountain Reel was the best I could come up with. 7.
William I of Scotland (48 years, 360 days) William’s fourth child (third
daughter) married Gilbert Marshall, 4th Earl of Pembroke, the son of
the 1st Earl of Pembroke, William Marshall who built the first stone
castle at this location in Ireland. The fortress was, of course, Kilkenny Castle 8. Elizabeth I of England During her reign, Elizabeth
faced many challenges, in particular from Mary Queen of Scots who was executed
in 1587 and the following year from the Spanish Armada. However, one of her most
severe tests was between 1594 and 1603 - the Nine Years’ War in Ireland, a
revolt that took place at the height of hostilities with Spain. One for the Irish campagin - The Irish Rover
9.
David II of Scotland (41 years, 260
days) David II died unexpectedly and
at the height of his power in Edinburgh Castle on 22 February 1371 and it was
around this time that Edinburgh was assuming the role of the principal city of
Scotland after Scone, Perth, Roxburgh, and Stirling, respectively. A Capital Jig for Edinburgh 10.
Henry VI of England (38 years, 347 days in total) Another infant king, Henry
ascended the throne aged 9 months (he also suffered from a mental illness like
George III). However, his reign is best remembered as being beset by the War of
the Roses during which Henry (who was the head of the House of Lancaster) lost
the crown to Edward IV (of the House of York) for 11 years. Had he reigned
continuously, Henry would have been on the throne for just less than 49 years. a bit oblique this one but we danced Alison Rose (for the war of the Roses) 11.
Henry VIII of England (37 years, 281 days) Well, he was indeed a philanderer - very much The Frisky 12. Elizabeth II (62 years, 333 days and counting…..) On the 20 November 1947 the then Princess Elizabeth married Prince Phillip of Greece and Denmark. On the morning of their marriage King George VI conferred a dukedom on the Prince, along with the titles of The Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. Their dukedom, of course, made them The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.
Graham Hamilton
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