Once again we have enjoyed an evening of fun and
fellowship, thanks to the inspiration and hard work of Heather and Andrew, and a
new date appears on the Cape Town annual calendar.
The history of Tartan Day goes back to 6 April
1320, when the Declaration of Arbroath was signed at Arbroath Abbey proclaiming
Scotland as an independent country, the responsibility of the people and not the
King. This is believed to be the origin of democracy and the
inspiration for the American Declaration of Independence and in 2008, George
Bush signed a Presidential Proclamation making April 6th National Tartan Day in
US. In the 1980's, it began to be celebrated in other
countries, like Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and now, thanks to
the Hodgson's efforts, in South Africa.
With the current official extinction of past
history, I guess few remembered April 6th as the day of the landing of Jan
van Riebeeck, come from Holland in his ship Drommedaris to establish a
refreshment station for the ships of the VOC trading in the East.
Our thanks go to hosts Lynfrae Scottish Country Dance Club and all who
helped make Wednesday 6th, the inaugural Tartan Day in Cape Town, such a
success. Also to the mini band of the Cape Field Artillery who
are always willing to give up time to provide live pipes and drums for us - they
led the Grand March. Always lovely to have the pipes and
drums. The program was a really good one, and all who attended must have
had a great, feel-good evening. We really enjoyed
ourselves. Some of us proudly wore our Tartan to daily activities
such as Bootcamp, gym etc.
We in Cape Town are so lucky to have people like
our enthusiastic new teachers to lead Scottish Dancing to new heights, and we thank Heather and Andrew for their time
and trouble given so happily. Pat Alston |
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