No Video

Grandpa’s Wife
Ferne Katzberg
32 Bar Strathspey for Three Couples

1 – 4 1st and 2nd couples set and cast; 1st couple cast into second place, while 2nd couple dance up to first place and dance a long turn (polite turn) to place

5 – 8 1st and 3rd couples set and cast; 1st couple cast into third place, while 3rd couple dance up to second place and face out on bar 8

9 – 16 1st, 2nd and 3rt! couples dance reels of three on own side, all joining nearer hands where possible

• 1st couple dance in and up to start
• 3rd couple dance out and down to start
• 2nd couple dance in and down to start 17 – 24 1st and 3rd couples dance the Knot, 1st couple finish facing first corners, 3rd couple finish on own side of dance

25 – 32 1st couple dance corner, partner, corner, partner

Repeat having passed a couple.

Music:

• The Bonnie Breist Knots (Traditional)
• Ben Lomond (Traditional)
• Stewart’s Lassie (Traditional)
• Miss Muir MacKenzie (Traditional)

Devised for George and Olive Ogilvie, without their dedication Scottish Country Dancing in Yorkton, Saskatchewan would never have become a reality.

Devised by Ferne Katzberg – February 15, 1991

---

Video: Middling, thank you

Middling, thank you
RSCDS Book 15
40-bar jig for three couples in a four-couple longwise set

1 – 8 1st and 2nd couples set twice and dance half rights and lefts.

9 – 16 2nd and 1st couples repeat bars 1-8 to finish in the middle of the set facing partners, both hands joined.

17 – 24 1st and 2nd couples dance a poussette.

25 – 32 1st couple lead down the middle and up and cast off one place to face first corners.

33 – 40 1st couple turn first corners with the right hand, partner with the left hand, second corners with the right hand and, giving left hand to partner, cross over to second place on own sides.

Repeat, having passed a couple.

Dances for 1813, published by Button and Whittaker, 1813.
Original tune: Middling, Thank you (Traditional)

TACNotes:
15-16 2nd woman helps 1st woman, 1st man helps 2nd man, into position for poussette before completing their polite turns.

---

No Video

Peridot and Sapphire
Debbie Crossley . The Fourth Sheaf Collection of Scottish Country Dances
32-bar strathspey for three couples in a three-couple longwise set

1 – 6 1st woman, followed by her partner, casts off behind the women’s line, crosses the set below 3rd couple. 1st woman dances up behind the men’s line to 1st man’s place whilst 1st man dances up the middle of the set to finish in 1st woman’s place (turning in the easy way, left shoulder pulled back).
7 – 8 1st and 2nd couples set on the side.

9 – 16 1st and 2nd couples dance a circulating knot, with 1st couple finishing facing partner’s first corner.
(9-10) 1st and 2nd couples turn partner right hand halfway into allemande hold, first couple are facing up and 2nd couple are facing down.
(11-12) 1st couple turn to left to dance across to the men’s side and turn to face down and dance down the sideline to second place whilst 2nd couple turn to dance across to the woman’s side and turn to face up then dance up the sideline to first place.
(13-14) 2nd and 1st couples both release right hand to pass the woman in front as 2nd man continues to dance up the women’s side and 1st man continues to dance down the men’s side.
(15-16) 2nd couple continue to turn by the left hand to finish in first place on own side whilst 1st couple continue to turn by the left hand to finish facing partners first corners.

17 – 20 1st couple and first corners dance corners pass and turn. First corners turn with the right hand. 1st couple pass by the right shoulder to face partner’s second corner.
21 – 24 1st couple and second corners dance pass corners and turn. Second corners turn with the right hand. 1st couple pass by the right shoulder to finish in second place opposite sides.

25 – 28 All three couples chase half-way round clockwise.
29 – 32 1st couple, giving both hands, turn once and finish on own sides whilst 2nd and 3rd couples, giving both hands, turn halfway and face partner before turning to the right to dance out to own sides. Finish 3 1 2.

Repeat from new positions.

Devised by Debbie Crossley, Sheffield Branch, 2021.
The dance was written to celebrate the marriage of Jana Hesselmann to Reg Stones. The first eight bars remind us of Reg and Jana dancing The Flowers of Edinburgh at the Scunthorpe dance when Luke Brady and his band came to play. The dance was encored with enthusiasm. The second eight bars celebrate Reg and Jana’s unique style of doing things their way. The third eight bars remind us that it’s not unheard of for Reg to switch sides part way through a dance. The final four bars are because Reg and Jana have found the partner they want to keep hold of. Formations in bold can be found in the Formations file.

---

Video: The Celtic Kiwi

The Celtic Kiwi
John Drewry, Bankhead Part 1
October 1991
for the dancers of Whangarei, New Zealand

Hornpipe – 3 couples – 32 bars

Tune – “The Redesdale Hornpipe” by James Hill, who also composed the “High Level Hornpipe”
use of this tune was suggested by Janette Johns of Whangarei.

1 – 8 1st, 2nd and 3rd couples dance reels of three on the sides.
To begin:- 1st couple dance down crossing over to reel on opposite sides;
2nd couple dance out and up;
3rd couple dance in and up.
All join nearer hands with partners where possible in the reels.
At the end:- 1st couple dance in to join nearer hands facing down;
2nd couple stay facing out;
3rd couple dance in to join nearer hands facing up.

9 – 16 1st and 3rd couples set and dance “petronella in tandem” half way round the set while 2nd couple dance as follows:- 2nd man casts up and dances into the middle in top place, while 2nd woman casts off and dances into the middle in third place; 2nd couple, giving right hands, change places up and down the middle and cast to their right to second place on own sides.

17 – 20 2nd woman dances right hands across with 3rd couple, who are in first place, while 2nd man dances right hands across with 1st couple, who are in third place. Make sure that these wheels are in the middle of the dance.

21 – 24 2nd man, followed by 1st couple, dances up the men’s side while 2nd woman, followed by 3rd couple, dances down the women’s side. All continue to chase clockwise until 1st and 2nd couples are in partners’ original places and 3rd couple are in own original places.

25 – 32 1st and 2nd couples dance a “Kiwi Knot”. i.e. upside-down. They turn partners with the right hand halfway round to finish facing up with hands in allemande hold; they dance out to the men’s side and down (with 2nd couple following 1st couple). Dropping right hands, 2nd and 1st couples dance into the middle and turn partners with the left hand to own sides. (N.B. This is a longer turn than in the ordinary Knot and the dancers need to anticipate this by keeping the whole progression well within the confines of the set.)

Repeat, having passed a couple.

NOTES —- “Petronella in tandem” see notes at end of book,

While I was staying in Whangarei, I was taken (17-10-91) with a group of dancers for a sail in Keith Wright’s yacht “Waihaka” (“The Water Dancer”) A coastal cargo boat passed us; it was called “THE CELTIC KIWI”. The name fired the imagination of the dancers and I was commissioned to write a
dance for them with this title. The dance was to contain “petronella in tandem”, wheels and a knot. I devised the dance the same evening and taught it several times over the next few days.

Imagine our surprise at the Auckland Weekend (26-10-91) to hear that The Celtic Kiwi had sunk on its way to Norfolk Island. The crew (13 men) had been rescued. I have heard recently that the boat was probably overloaded. In any case the blame could not be laid at my door because the boat had changed its name from the “Holmdale” and so, with a name-change and a 13-man crew it was chancing its luck.

“Petronella in Tandem” occurs in several of these dances. Usually it is preceded by setting. It was first used in “Anna Holden’s Strathspey”. In spite of its simplicity, I thought that it was a new idea, but Iain Boyd, in New Zealand, and Marie Boehmer, in Ontario, say they have used it (without a name) in their dances. At least it now has a label.

In my dances, it is danced by a man and a woman standing side by side (the man having the woman on his right – if they were the other way, the man would precede the woman) or by two men or two women standing side by side.

The dancer on the right executes an ordinary petronella turn except that he or she travels slightly beyond the normal position to leave room for the other dancer. The dancer on the left also executes a petronella turn dancing initially closely behind the other dancer (i.e. “in tandem”) to finish once again on the left of the other dancer.

In reels or jigs it is best to execute the movement with skip change of step.