No longer Kiltless

I need to change the title of my blog, but I won't because I like it. See last night, I went to a ceilidh. That is a traditional Scottish hoedown, shindig, hootnani, etc. It is a little like square dancing, except the moves aren't called, and the dance goes in a circle, so it isn't really like square dancing at all except for the fact that it's dancing.

To put it bluntly, I wore a kilt. (More pictures pending; I didn't bring my camera, so these are from other people. Will update as I receive them.)

(Dancing with Rach at the Ceilidh)




Questions (I'm sure you have them):

Was it mine? Yes. I bought it at Armstrong's, a great vintage store, but I couldn't afford the traditional sporran (that is a furry little man purse that hangs in front) to go with it.

(Rach and I coming back after buying the Kilt)

Did I dance well? Yes, if I do say so myself. I danced every single dance. I danced with Frankie, Rach, Nora, Jen (who is a terrific dancer and a wonderful person, and I only haven't mentioned her so far because I couldn't find the words to describe how awesome she is), Lisa (one of the directors, whew, now she can dance), Courtney, and a few others who escape my memory. The dance steps were easy to pick up after a little practice.

What was the dancing like? Well, see, traditional Scottish dancing goes hand in hand with traditional Scottish weather, so there is a great deal of jumping, hopping and spinning. A WHOLE LOT OF SPINNING. Quite a bit of polka spins. In fact, that leads me to the next question.

(Reading Courtney a poem after buying a kilt)

Did you have a favorite dance? Yes, two. The first was called the "Flying Scotsman." In essence, you line up and dance, gallop up and down the line, then run around the outside of the group in a "crack-the-whip-like" exercise. It goes quite fast, and the last person in the line is often picked up off their feet. The other is my favorite. It is called the "helicopter." It is dangerous! Essentially, two men put their arms around two women, and spin them around with their feet of the ground. The fiddler of the band said we (the middle group specifically) executed it well. He was quite glad we did it because the band rarely gets to play that tune, either because the venue makes it too dangerous, or the people are too old.

Yes, I know, I'm not actually answering your real questions. Did you really wear a kilt? Yes.

No, I mean, really wear it traditionally? For the evening, I was a real Scotsman, though some people (mostly the girls from Belgium) didn't believe me.

Did your kilt fly up? Nope. Though I thought it might a few times, during some of the spin moves, and I fell down once.

(Phil and I consider wearing kilts)

How do you like wearing a skirt? Most of the males reading this will understand my answer. When you switch to boxers for the first time, it is freeing, to say the least. Well it was like that, and breezy. I loved it, I don't understand why it is unacceptable. Everyone should wear them. And I got lots of compliments. Both Phil and I (Phil braved the kilt too) looked good. Stylish. Like two guys in man-dresses. Hrmmm.. that doesn't sound right.

Jokes aside, it was fun. Very Fun. Weekend update is coming soon.