THE MALVERN Scottish Dancing Club has celebrated its 70th anniversary.
The club marked the occasion with an evening of dancing and a cake cutting earlier at the Holy Trinity Church Hall which is the home of its regular weekly meetings.
Formally known as the Malvern Scots Club, the group was founded in 1944 for Scottish people who had come to work at the Telecommunications Radar Establishment at Malvern College during the Second World War.
In the 1980s the club opened up to non-Scots and changed its name, which also signalled a change in activities.
Gone were the days of Scottish cooking, caber tossing and even whisky tasting evenings, although haggis is still eaten at the annual Burns supper maintaining one of the club’s traditions.
Member Su Vale, said: “Unfortunately, the original name created the impression no one could join unless he or she was a full-blooded Scot, with kilt, hairy sporran and, preferably, a set of bagpipes. Since Scottish country dancing was clearly too much fun to keep to themselves any longer, the club advertised its change of character by changing its name.”
The club meets every Thursday at 8pm offering a complete range of Scottish dancing.
Current president Pauline Tocher added: “I believe the success of the club is partly due to the fact that although some of the members are experienced dancers and some have been dancing for many years, others are fairly new to Scottish dancing.
“We have weekly teaching sessions designed for those new to dancing and we are always welcoming those new to it.
“It is enjoyable, sociable, active and there is a sense of achievement in learning new dances. There is a long history of traditional dances but new dances are being written all the time.”
