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Lazy Boots Western Dancers Valentine Festival 2007 (9th - 11th Feb 07)
The weekend started under a thick cloud of snow which seemed to have hit all the approach roads to South Wales, but with out leaving anything at Aberavon. Those who were able to leave home early got through without too much difficulty, but those who left a bit later, or who had to wait till after work before setting out, were faced with hours of delays on the main roads and atrocious driving conditions. A big thank you to everyone who fought their way through to get to the venue. Although some did not arrive till quite late, the hotel staff ensured that everyone got dinner, no matter what time they arrived!! Maria Lee, our guest artist for Friday night also had some trouble getting to the hotel but arrived in time to set up and sound check while the main dinner was being served. Some present had not seen this fabulous young lady before, but she soon had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand. Her smooth yet powerful voice is a joy to listen to, but the music she sings makes you want to dance. And dance we did, the floor was crammed for every number. Stuart filled in the gaps between Maria's sets with the disco and of course the raffle, but all too soon it was time for Maria to go (after 2 encores though!!) and head back home to Basildon. Stuart kept the disco going till about 1.15am, it was quite surprising, given the long tiring day many had had getting there, how many people stayed up!! On Saturday, the dance workshops began in the morning (not too early) with Terry & Caroline French teaching 'Moon and Stars Waltz', Ann was on next with a line dance 'What A Night' and just before lunch Stuart and Ann taught 'Dancing On The Boulevard'. In the afternoon Terry taught 2 line dances 'Dark Secrets' and 'Love and Happiness' and we had Ken & Dorothy Harrison to teach the partner dance 'It's The Season'. Before breaking to get ready for dinner, we had a recap of the dances taught in the morning. Throughout the day, the Western Wear Bring and Buy sale had been going on, giving guests the opportunity to sell some of their unwanted shirts, skirts boots etc and also pick up a bargain or two. Saturday night's guest band was the Steve James Band all the way from Glasgow (they had left home at 7.30 in the morning to get to Aberavon), but fortunately theyir journey was not as bad as many had experienced on Friday, The band features Steve James (lead vocals, backing vocals, lead & rhythm guitar and banjo), his nephew Nick James (lead vocals, backing vocals, lead & rhythm guitar) and a well know face to us all, Vic Oakley, formerly of No Regrets (lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar). The guys gave us 3 great sets of real country music that was appreciated by dancers and listeners alike, and played on till midnight, way beyond their programmed finish time!! They also spent one of their breaks jamming with John Williams, the guest singer that night in the hotel lounge, giving the locals a bit of a treat. Stuart brought the evening to close again, well it was 1.30 in the morning to be precise, with a selection tracks from the disco, mainly requests but including a good number of classic line and partner dances. After breakfast on Sunday, it was back to the workshops and we had Terry & Caroline first to teach a partner dance 'Wrapped In A Dream'. The rest of the morning was spent revising and recapping all of the dances taught on Saturday, interspersed with social dancing and requests. Roy & Jenny, Winchester Western Wear, turned up at crack of dawn to set up shop for the morning and did a roaring trade on shirts and tops, belts, and sparkly goods etc. At 1pm, Stuart sadly brought the weekend to a close with 'Best Of Friends' and everyone headed into the restaurant for a fabulous full Sunday lunch. As it had been all weekend, the food was great and the service by the hotel staff excellent. After lunch it was time for goodbyes all round and head for home, fortunately most of the snow had cleared from the roads over the weekend and everyone was able to have a much easier journey home.
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