ST ANDREW'S DAY 2009.  GALA HOMECOMING DINNER & DANCE 27th  November 2009.  Dover Town Hall.   A Disappointing 57 members and Guests attended this traditional event in the wonderful setting of Dover Town Hall.  Although the committee had hoped for numbers exceeding 100 especially our Secretary, Graham Hutchison who had worked hard for months to promote this event especially after having booked the famous Ceilidh Band "Scotch Mist" at, obviously, increased costs. However, those who did attend were treated to a fine meal, uplifting speeches and some great musical entertainment and dancing.  All said this was a great night and president, Neil Farquhar, reported that he had received numerous phonecalls the day following the event all complementary and thanking us for organising such a great night.     President                                 Neil Farquhar Welcome, Address to a Haggis and Toast to the Queen      Neil Farquhar Toast to our Guests                 Harry Hutchison Reply                                       Philip Smye-Rumsby  To St. Andrew and Caledonia    Reverend James McKnight    Toastmistress                          Iain Fairweather Escort to the Haggis                 Nan Walker and Iain Fairweather   Piper                                        Margaret Adamson Music                                       Scotch Mist   Catering                                  Thanet LeisureForce - Wintergardens   President Neil Farquhar introduced the speeches with the Loyal Toast and Address to the Haggis Harry Hutchison delivered a brilliant and humourous toast to our guests which he gave in his imitable style and received rapturous applaud.  Philip Smye-Rumsby gave a wonderful and sincere reply on behalf of the guests and the main speech, the Toast to St Andrew and Caledonia was given by Reverend James McKnight and was informative uplifting and with splashes of humour.  It was well received and a point of note is that, even after spending many years South of the Border, this was James' first actual St Andrews' night - so fitting that we, The Dover and East Kent Scottish Society,  were able to obtain his services.   The meal was noted as being of the best for many a year and many thanks to Thanet Leisure Force for providing the catering and all ancillary services surrounding the event.   The music was provided by Scotch Mist who performed excellently and introduced the dances - many new ones, traditional ones and some new adaptations of known dances.  the dancefloor was never empty and even our regular non-dancers got their legs moving across the floor.   So although numbers were down, a great time was had by all.         Grand Setting                                            Society Display at entrance.                                                         Dancing               More Dancing - a full length Strip the Willow           Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust                                                                            Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust - supported by DEKSS      ,   The band "Scotch Mist" were well worth the extra expense, good musicians and with the lead, Chris, also calling the dances it was a most enjoyable evening.     Lead, Chris Ransome, calling a dance.  The floor was always filled which is a good indictment of the band's expertise and how those attending were enjoying themselves.             St Andrews' Dinner Dance  28th November 2008.    The main speech was delivered by our Secretary Graham Hutchison (is there no end to this man's talents ?) and he seemd to cramm so much of Scotland's and St. Andrew's history into his 20 minutes slot that everyone in the hall must surely have learned something.  This was Graham's maiden main speech, following his toast to the guests this time last year and his opening bold statement was St.Andrew was 29 feet tall ! Graham then went on to explain why he had come to this conclusion in an informative and humourous fashion.  Bearing in mind Graham's recent work schedule, which has been similar to Neil's, he has had hardly any time to research, prepare or practice, this speech went down very well and was comented that it was both "informative and inspirational".    Who can forget "JINGs, CRIVENNS AND HELP MA BOAB!", that the Scots invented the flat square suasage, football and the deep fried marsbar !   After this toast we were treated to a performance by Maggie Danstead on the harp accompanied by Norma Nunn which was excellent.   It was nice to see youngsters involved in the dancing, special mention to Lee Danstead and Ben Robinson who not only brought the average age down but also spent a lot of time on the dancefloor - most of it sort of voluntary !