Deej's Blog

Will I Ever Learn?

2010-06-03T21:52:00.002Z

When, back in 1998, I first signed up to do an advanced driving course, my thinking was that I was already a pretty good driver but hey, I might pick up a couple of tips. The test of course, would just be a formality. The reality was somewhat different. There was a geat deal about driving that I hadn't previously considered and suddenly I was seeing so much more with my new, enhanced observation than I ever had before that I thought my head would explode from the intensity of it. The test itself was a not a formality and was if anything more gruelling than my original driving test.
The following year I joined up with York Advanced Motorcyclists to train for my advanced motorcycling test. This would of course be pretty straight forward as I was already an advanced driver. The test, so I thought, would obviously be just a formality.... Oh no. Once again my eyes were opened as my riding was dissected and reconstructed. I can particularly remember at one point I seriously wondered if I'd ever be good enough to do it, there was so much to think about and all at the same time! The advanced riding test, again, was no formality. Indeed at one point I thought I'd failed, though fortunately my examiner saw things more leniently and gave me a pass, albeit with a few words of caution.
In 2000 I thought I'd have a go at the RoSPA Advanced Motorcycling Test, thinking that with my IAM in the bag, this would just be a formality, especially as I'd now been observing for a year. Gutted I was, when the examiner returned a verdict of pass with Silver Grade! Silver Grade, I ask you, surely I deserved a Gold, but apparently not. Consequently I went away, did some hard training, and six months later was rewarded with the Gold pass I so desired. Curiously, with my newly found expertise, I could now see why I hadn't warranted a Gold on my ealier attempt.
Two years ago, in 2008, I started training as a driving instructor, with a change of career in mind. Three tests to take; Theory, Driving and Instructional. Obviously these would just be formalities, I mean, hey, with my background?
Actually with my background, you'd thought I'd have learnt by now that in fact I don't know everything about anything and in fact the training turned out to be more intense and brain-testing than I had ever envisaged. Nevertheless, the training was good, (I've always relished the challenge of training once I've acknowledged that I don't know it all already) and I passed all three tests first time.
Can anyone see a pattern building up here?
You'd really think that by the time I signed up last month for an AA Driving School DIT course, learning to train new potential driving instructors, I would have realised my limitations, but no. Not me (will I ever?). It'll just be stuff I do already, thought I. Once again, far from knowing it all before I start, I'm learning more about what I don't know already, and once again relishing the challenge and loving the training. Respect to Alan Esam who has put together and is running the course - it's great - difficult, challenging yet achievable, and I'm loving it, but it's certainly not the simple formality I was foolishly expecting. At the beginning of the course when we looked at personal objectives, one of mine was to be reminded that I don't know everything already. Nice one Alan, you proper sorted that in the first two days! Loving the course and can't wait for next week. Curiously, this time, now, I'm not looking at the final test of instructional abilty to be just a formality and consequently am putting serious effort into making sure I pass.
Maybe I'm starting to learn after all...
Deej

That's My Boy!

2010-05-07T11:46:00.002Z

I don't think I've ever wanted to write my feelings down and record them more than I do this week; I feel so proud;
My eldest son Luca, now 4, this week took part with his fellow nursery-mates in skipping around a maypole erected in the school hall, and not having a driving lesson booked at the time, I went along with Trisha to see. I've never really witnessed Luca subscribe much to joining with group activities before so didn't really know what to expect. When I've occasionally taken him to nursery he'stendedto seek out something to play with then quietly get on with it himself. When he gets engrossed, he gets properly engrossed to the point that he's sometimes hard to reach. Is this normal for a four year old? I've really no idea as I have no previous experience to draw from.
Anyway, our first surprise, as Trisha and I walked into the hall to see all the children sitting quietly waiting for proceedings to begin, was that Luca was sat waiting as quietly as all the other children. He's not normally one for waiting quietly so this was a bit of a shock but it was so nice to see. Then when the teacher stood next to him told him we'd arrived and pointed us out, he stood and waved at us with such excitement and enthusiasm that my heart melted. Trisha's too. He then quietly sat and waited again until being led to the Maypole.
The children were to be dancing/skipping round in pairs and he'd told us he would be partnering Jessica, but no, there was Luca by himself and Jessica was with another little boy. Not left out though, one of the nursery teachers came and held his hand, ready to start. Then I found out why. As soon as the music started Luca shut his eyes and they remained shut while he skipped, circling around the pole for a couple of minutes until the music stopped. After a short delay whilst the children were regrouped to circle the other way, the music started again and sure enough, Luca skipped around the maypole with his eyes firmly and resoloutely closed, not to open again until the music was once again switched off and everyone came to a stop. Trisha asked him later if he had shut his eyes because he was concentrating really hard and he told us yes, though to be honest we're not really sure what was going on in his little head. Shut eyes or not however, Trisha and I are both incredibly proud to see our little Luca engaging in an organised group activity with other children and being incredibly well behaved throughout. Don't get me wrong, we didn't expect him to misbehave, but it was such a joy to see how good he was. If you're a parent yourself, I'm guessing you'll know just how I feel, if not then you're probably wondering what the hell I'm talking about. Beforebecoming a parent myself, I wouldn't have had a clue!

I Miss 'Em!

2009-07-10T22:22:00.005Z

One of my favourites passed her test on Wednesday. First time too, which was nice. Rachel, for that is her name, was thinking before hand that she probably wouldn't pass first time as apparently most people don't, but she was properly prepared and breezed it! Although I was almost as pleased as she was with the result, I was more pleased the previous day, in her last lesson before test day, when she was driving around with fabulous, sensitive control and a clear knowledge of what she was doing. Bearing in mind that a few months ago Rachel couldn't set off without stalling (her first lesson) the change is amazing and consequently never ceases to amaze me in Rachel, or any of my other learners. The actual pass itself is occasionally tinged with sadness for me as whilst I'm always pleased for them, the pass also means I won't get to share time with them any more, as they progress with their driving career without me. As with many others, I've really enjoyed teaching Rachel to drive and will miss her.
That same afternoon though, I saw Tess, another of my previous clients who passed her test (also first time) in April. It was a completely chance meeting in Tesco car park but gave us a chance to chat and catch up. It was very rewarding to see her driving around and be able to think; "I made that possible". Still miss her too, though. Not to mention Ed, John, Andy, Zoe, Sarah and many others. Just in case any of you ever read this... Drop me a line and let me know how you're getting on...?

Born To Teach?

2009-07-02T11:36:00.004Z

Life as a driving instructor has its ups and downs, but on the whole, it’s great. I get on very well with most of my clients and we have a laugh or two whilst they learn how to drive. I really enjoy building a relationship over the time I spend with them, sharing the joy and frustration as they learn and struggle, and then learn some more, and sharing their elation as they pass their test (most of my passes are first time too, which is nice). Occasionally I get asked if I’ve thought about becoming an examiner. This is something I really wouldn’t want to do.
As a driving instructor, I get to know my clients and build something of a bond with them, sharing time in the car together, experiencing highs and lows of the learning procedure and ultimately the final high as they wave the pass certificate in the air and text all their mates on the way home. As an examiner I’d get to see a stream of individuals for 40 minutes each, half of whom (at York, pass rate is about 50%) I’d have to crush by telling them that they haven’t reached the standard this time. No banter. No sharing. No bonding. No learning. No fun.
As a driving instructor I sometimes conduct mock tests but at least at the end if it doesn’t go well I can go on to say
“Well, that wasn’t great, but now let’s go and fix it!”
I love the whole teaching thing of facilitating learning and seeing people do something that they couldn’t do an hour, a week, or a month ago. And then being able to think;
“I made that possible.” It’s a great feeling and very rewarding.
I get this in the dance world too. On the night the Engine Shed re-opened its doors to the salsa community, I had the pleasure of dancing with several ladies whom I have taught to dance and I delighted in every one of them. Even better when separately but on that same evening, two of the ladies concerned actually kissed me and thanked me for teaching them to dance. How good did that make me feel?

Life On the Road

2009-03-17T17:43:00.002Z

It was five months ago I started work as a driving instructor and for a while I wondered if I was going to make it. The hardest part of the job is actually finding pupils to teach, hence my getting a franchise with the AA Driving School in the hope that they'd get some for me. There are never any guarantees but they've got more experience of marketing driving lessons than I have, and a conversation with an established AA instructor during my training led me to believe that they are pretty good at it. The first week was a bit of a disaster, all sorts of problems with admin etc, resulted in no one to teach at all. The AA tell us we're welcome to go and find people to teach ourselves but that's far easier said than done and after a cold morning stood outside our local college handing out special offer cards to anyone that would take one (not many as it happened) I realised when no one actually took me up on the offers that self marketing was likely to be difficult. Fortunately, the second week, things started to pick up and carried on for a month or so as I steadily got busier.

Until Christmas. From early December to end of January, I got about two new pupils a month, not the two a week I'd hoped for. Business was definitely not booming. From what I understand, most independant driving instructors get most of their work from referrals. People who've passed their tests and told their mates how brilliant they are. I thought this would work for me too but first I had to get someone through their test!

Good news then that yesterday, exactly five months since I started, I got my first test pass. My pupil Andy was well chuffed as he'd reckoned the cards were stacked against him. With a colourful history of driving disqualifications (earned riding a motorcycle unlicensed and uninsured) he thought the any examiner would be desperate to keep him off the road but he went in there, properly prepared and passed first time with flying colours. I like to think I can take some of the credit for that, though to be fair Andy does have a lot of aptitude. It's been a pleasure working with him, and more so when the examiner pronounced the news at the end of his test yesterday (albeit without breaking a smile, miserable sod!). Andy is over the moon as he's got a car waiting to be driven and now he can go and drive it.

I'm over the moon too for I've now got a good test pass in the bag and almost feel like a "proper" driving instructor. Business is picking up too. Throughout February introductions started coming more frequently again, and my diary has now been pretty full for the last couple of weeks and looks like continuing in the same vein. As my mate Maureen says;
"Life is grand!"

Number's Up!

2008-11-21T00:06:00.003Z

What was that I wrote about Wetherby being down on numbers last few weeks?
Cue Victor Meldrew impersonation; "I don't believe it!"
This week in Wetherby numbers were through the ceiling as we had 17 brand new beginners! This is a new record for us and in fact we had more brand newbies than we had "experienced" beginners so ended up throwing everyone in together for a basic class. Beginners who were expecting to cover "Casino" this week, please accept my apologies (we'll do it again in 7 weeks time) and also my thanks for your indulgence. I had one slightly disappointed leader ask if he could do our level 2 class as he felt level 1 had been a bit of a nothing for him. Sadly he asked me right before we started and we like to put our beginners through their paces before we move them up so he couldn't move up this week. Cheeky fella then proceeded to watch (and follow) the class from the sidelines, practising with a friend. From what I could see, he's going to be moving up next week!
I hope he stays with us when he does. A couple of years ago we had one bloke desperate to move up for months but he really struggled to make the grade. He'd used to go to other classes and tell us about how he'd managed ok, yet he'd still struggle to successfully lead our beginners syllabus.
When he eventually cracked it and moved up to our level 2 class, he only did about two weeks before he slung his hook and we haven't seen him back since. Maybe he was just seeking our recognition? There's no understanding some folk. I'm glad he hasn't given up dancing though - I see him around the circuit every now and again and always give him a nod and a smile.
If you're reading this, why not tip me a nod and a smile too?
Catch yer laters
Deej

Driving Passion II

2008-11-13T23:01:00.008Z

Four weeks ago today, following a two day induction course with the AA Driving School (following qualification as a DSA Approved Driving Instructor, following months of study and training), I started work as a driving instructor. Well, I say started work but in truth, I didn't actually "teach" anyone until the Saturday of the following week, when I had a lesson with the first of my AA allocated pupils. The pupil concerned was a very pleasant young lady called Claire who had already done a considerable amount of training and had her test booked in a couple of weeks. One lesson with me and she cancelled all further lessons and decided to go it alone! Either I was brilliant or I was crap! (I'm thinking crap). There was loads of stuff in that lesson I didn't do very well, suffice to say I learnt from the experience though I do feel I let Claire down a bit, as she didn't get brilliant value for money, that particular Saturday morning.

My next pupil was another partly trained lady, who despite the fact that I'd rectified many of my faults from the previous outing and did a much better job, also had one lesson with me before cancelling all further lessons. This time I didn't have to blame my poor lesson technique. The lady concerned was a field engineer working away from home and she was called back to her head office before we got the chance to do any more together.

Since then, it's been getting better. I've now got several pupils who I'm teaching from scratch, and three or four more who are partly trained who seem to be happy with the service I'm providing (one of whom had one lesson with me then promptly booked two hours a day for the next 11 days!).

It was a big jump, leaving a "secure" career and regular dayjob, but so far, at least now it's started to pick up a bit, it's paying dividends in terms of job satisfaction. I love to see how pleased the learners are when they start to get the hang of it, though it's not without its risks, too. One of the areas I only glossed over in my training was use of dual controls, and I wondered if I'd be up to it when the need arose. I needn't have worried. Earlier this week the learner in the driving seat next to me seemed intent on getting us both mown down by a 40 ton articulated truck as he happily attempted to pull out in front of it, and my feet responded pretty damn fast when my I realised my life (and his) was on the line.

At the moment, despite only teaching 19 hours this last week, I seem to be a lot busier than when I had a "regular" job, as I'm also spending loads of time on admin as I set up my new business and get used to all the new procedures, plus the time I spend driving the local roads searching out suitable locations on which to take my learners. Once I've found my feet a bit, this should ease off considerably and hopefully I'll be able to spend a bit more time with my family, though already I'm getting home at lunchtime most days, which I never once did when I worked in an office 55 miles away!

This is such a joy as Luca particularly is going through a phase where he seems to be developing really quickly and I don't want to miss it. He's been building up a vocabulary for over a year, but recently he's been putting much more in context and actually holding conversations where he answers questions. I don't expect anyone who hasn't got their own children to understand this ("great, so he can hold a conversation!") but I know other parents will totally relate to my sentiments. He is such a dlight to Trisha and I, and Ben, bless his cotton socks (which can't seem to stay on for more than five minutes) is still the smiley-est baby I've ever come across, despite being plagued with ill-health (currently bronchiolitis for the last month or so) for most of his life so far. He's six months old next week. Where did that go?

On a completely different subject, can anyone explain to me why when numbers at our York Club are going through the roof, Wetherby has dropped off big-time? I'll never understand the dynamics of the change of numbers of people at salsa clubs. I still vividly remember one week at Wetherby a little over a year ago when we only got 11 people through the door all evening! We were back to over 30 the following week and so we asked people what they'd bee up to. No big football match, no common reason; everyone we asked had a random, unconnected reason for their absence the previous week! Just totally coincidence. Weird.

Speaking of Salsa, we're now looking forward to our Christmas parties and attendees are in for a real treat this year. Trisha has put together a fantastic routine for the our intermediate ladies' demonstration and our friends (and assistants) Phil and Kate have been busy choreographing and teaching our partnerwork demo. Phil came to me with an idea for the demo about three months ago thinking I might take it on board, and unwittingly volunteered himself for the job. I'm glad he did though, because he and Kate are doing a brilliant job. I almost wish I wasn't involved in performing it so I could just enjoy watching from the audience. It's gonna be fab!

Hope to see you there...

Driving Passion

2008-09-12T21:27:00.003Z

I'm feeling rather pleased with myself this week. Let me tell you why;
I've not been happy in my day job for a while. Years, rather than months. I don't want to get into detail, let's just say the company culture and philosophy doesn't match my own personal values. But what to do? I work in a particular niche of Information Technology, but it is a small, specialised niche and there's not much work around that I know of, not like the heady days just prior to the millenium (remember all the scares?). I didn't really want to jump ship just to end up in another company I didn't like so I stayed put for a while.

Those who know me reasonably well will know I've been involved in Advanced Driving and Motorcycling for several years and Trisha has many times suggested I think about driver training as a possible career. Anyway in December last year, I finally decided maybe she was right and started on the road to becoming a driving instructor, little knowing how drawn out a process it is.
Basically, you have to pass three tests; Theory, Driving Ability, and Instructional Ability, but before you can take any of them you have to be registered as a potential driving instructor, and to get this registration you have to have a CRB check. Cue a series of delays with government agencies processing (or not processing) forms and you've really got to want to do it or you'd die of boredom.
I eventually got my Theory Test booked for Saturday 14th June and knuckled down to some serious study, even borrowing a friend's house the day before the test to be able to study in peace and quiet, away from the joys of family life. Thanks, Maureen!
I passed and as soon as I could, booked Part 2, the Driving Ability Test for one month later on July 14th.
Since December I'd been looking around for suitable training - I'm not arrogant enough to think my background would get me through without it and how right I was!
Shying away from the large schools (lots of money up front and no guarantees) I eventually located an independant trainer with a host of qualifications, including IAM, RoSPA, DIAmond, Cardington, and even a degree in driving tuition. Here's a man with passion for his vocation, I thought, and I wasn't disappointed.
Peter is very down to earth but really knows his stuff and on July 14th got me through Part 2 after just 6 hours of training. Pass rate for this is apparently around 54%.
Part 3 is the biggy. The overall pass rate is just 24%, but first time pass rate is only 7%.
Fifty one more hours of training saw me sitting (and passing, first time!) my Part 3 ADI (Approved Driving Instructor) test on Tuesday this week with what the examiner called a very "solid" pass (Thanks Peter!).
So now I'm looking at a new career as an Approved Driving Instructor. I've no illusions about it being an easy life, but I'm damn sure I'm going to enjoy it a whole lot more than attempting to implement sub-standard software in front of disapproving customers. I'm finally going to be responsible for the service I'm providing, so I'll stand (or fall) on my own merit. I've given my notice in for my current job so there's no going back and I'm looking forward to my last day of incarceration on Friday 10th October.
Roll on that day.
A whole new life awaits.
Like I say, I'm feeling rather pleased with myself. :-)

New Addition

2008-05-22T22:50:00.004Z

I am so pleased to announce the safe arrival of a new member of the De-Giorgio Clan;

Beniamino John was born at 09:43 on Tuesday 20th May, 2008 and weighed 7lbs 12oz.

Trisha and Ben are now both home and doing absolutely fine, and whilst Luca has only so far made a passing acknowledgement of his little brother, he so far seems to be taking the change in his stride.

Here's a few pics, hope you like 'em.

As you can see, we're rather proud...

Chinese for 9?

2008-05-11T19:09:00.002Z

It started with just two of us. Sarah had agreed to help me out teaching at the Bradford All-Dayer, so I felt the least I could do was ask her to join me for dinner between the afternoon's classes and the evening party. Then I found that Maureen, Donna and Louise from our Monday clubnights were coming too, so it seemed appropriate to invite them along. Maureen especially as I'd agreed to give her a lift to the venue. Five of us.
The evening before, I learnt that Ben (another of our Monday nighters) was also at the event so it seemed like a good idea to ask him too. That'll be six, then.

I thought I'd got it sorted. Bradford is the curry centre of the north and twice previously Trisha and I had nipped for an Indian between teaching and partying. I'd even got a place in mind, the Nawab;- big enough to cope with a few of us at short notice, but small enough to be good quality, and reasonably priced to boot. And if they were full, hey, it's Bradford , I knew several others curry houses we could.
After the tango classes, I got chatting to Jamie, Bill Newby's tango partner and wondered if she and Bill would like to join us. Now we were eight.

Sarah was the first to throw a spanner in the works.
"Curry?" she said, disapprovingly, "I don't think that's a good idea, with the stinky breath that always ensues."
To be fair to Sarah, she had a point, but that said, where else was I going to find that was big enough to cope with nine of us at very short notice? Yeah, nine - Sarah had asked our friend Rick along too. I'd lived on the north side of Bradford ten years ago but a lot could change in that time and I only ever went out in threes and fours in those days.
I phoned Trisha after watching Doctor Who (thanks to Jan and Gary, oh heck, maybe I should've invited them as well?) and she was a little concerned.
"You've given yourself a real job there," she warned. "How are you all going to decide on what you want to eat, and then when you do, how are you going to find somewhere that can fit nine of you in at less than an hour's notice?"
Trisha had a point. These impromptu gatherings sound great in concept but can be a real pain to organise.
Back down in the foyer, I met with Sarah, Donna, Maureen, Louise and Ben to discuss what to do.
If only there was somewhere like Maxi's in York , I cogitated, they'd manage us all and everyone likes chinese food. Well, hopefully. Wait a minute, there's a Maxi's in Leeds and we could be there in fifteen minutes down the motorway!
Checking with those present, everyone really did seem to like chinese and the idea was received with universal approval. The first attempt to call and check availability wasn't promising though, the phone just rang and rang but nobody answered. Ben called directory enquiries to check the number. It was the right number but he tried himself anyway and sure enough, they answered straight away. Nothing personal, I hope.
Nine of us? In half an hour? No problem.

Right. Nine of us. Two cars? Oh wait. Ben and Rick both drive two seaters, Sarah's started drinking already, and Bill and I can only fit four each owing to him having a posh Saab convertible and me having a child seat in situ. Three cars then. After a two minute wait whilst Ben vanished and then reappeared, we finally got on the road and headed off in convoy. I knew approximately where it was and how to get there, though you wouldn't have thought this from our circumnavigation of Leeds as I missed my exit from the M621;
"It's that one isn't it?"
"No, I think it's the next one."
"Oh yeah, I think you're right."
"Wait a minute. No. It actually was that one! Oh well, round we go..."
I knew that the actual place was on set back from Kirkstall Road , on the North side, between the A58M roundabout and the viaduct.
Somewhere.
Driving past it the second time, Maureen spotted it through a myriad of other buildings, far closer to the roundabout than I remembered. Unfortunately we'd already passed the turn off so another detour was in order.
Nevertheless, we all arrived in good spirits and were ushered straight to our table upon entry. From here on in, everything came together beautifully. We were all happy to share a set menu so we could just divvy the eventual cost up thereby avoiding lengthy discussions about who's had what and how they only had half a glass of wine and not three bottles like him over there and anyway I didn't have a starter.
The food was quick coming and when it came, was delicious. The company was both eclectic and enjoyable, with people from diverse backgrounds including an organic farming consultant, two zoo keepers, owner of a credit management consultancy, a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist, a dance student, a college lecturer and little old me.
With all of us having a common background of dance, the conversation flowed between this and other subjects and covered topics such as why giraffes have blue tongues (to stop them getting sunburnt, apparently) and why Clive Anderson thinks one of a real lady's best qualities is her ability to wait.
Despite my early misgivings about organisation, it turned out to be one the most enjoyable dinner parties I can remember, and even better as it was followed with a great night's dancing back at Bradford afterwards.
Nice.

12th Night Salsa Extravaganza 2008

2008-01-06T23:24:00.000Z

I am knackered. Really knackered. But I'm happy too. Really happy. In fact, really, amazingly, ecstically gobsmackingly happy. Read on to find out why...

This weekend Trisha and I were once again invited to teach at York's 12th Night Salsa Extravaganza, the biggest and best salsa event in the North East of England each year, in my opinion at least. Over four hundred dancers from all over the region (and beyond) come together for two party nights and a full day of workshops, covering salsa at all levels as well as taster sessions of of Bachata, Argentine Tango, Cha-Cha-Cha, Rumba and more...

Two years ago, the organisers introduced a "12th Night Award" to be awarded for "Services To Regional Salsa" - as voted for by attendees. The first year, the biggest vote went to Leeds based teachers/promoters Nicolai and Helena, though as they weren't able to attend, the award was given instead to one of the scenes favourite unsung heroes - a guy called Pete who helps loads of teachers out with beginners classes and is the bloke at social who seems to make it his mission to dance non-stop all night with every lady in the room. I guess now he's not "Unsung" any more, having received his award!

Last year, Nicolai and Helena won the vote again (organiser Tony Piper in close second place, and rightly so) and were around to pick it up. Which was nice.

Trisha and I were gobsmacked (and thrilled) to be voted in third place last year - ahead of loads of other regional teachers and promoters who've been around far longer than we. Actually we were a bit embarrassed as many of the other teachers around us were the teachers from whom we learnt when we were starting out on our salsa journey.

So, onto last night, and the 12th night Salsa Award 2008.

I can't hold in the excitement any longer for on our mantlepiece is our "Joint 1st Place" 12th Night Award!!!!

I can't begin to tell you how thrilled we are to have received this, on many different levels. Firstly we shared our first place with organisers Tony and Mary Piper, who I believe do more for the regional salsa scene than anybody. On top of organising the 12th Night Congress and running their own weekly classes and twice monthly Engine Shed socials along with teachers Alfredo and Christine, they publish the most comprehensive regional event guide I know of. Whenever anyone asks me what's going on, I just point them to Tony's site ( salsayork.com) and tell them to check out the event guide there.

Secondly, the award is voted for by the 400+ plus dancers attending 12th Night, so the recognition isn't just between fellow promoters, but from the dancers themselves.

Since Trisha and I started teaching together less than three and a half years ago, we've tried hard to ensure our classes and clubnights are as good as they can be, and this award is the best feedback we could possibly wish for to let us know we're getting it right (at least some of the time). It's a fantastic feeling to know we have inspired enough dancers enough to want to give us this award, but in turn, the main reason we do it, is because OUR greatest inspiration is seeing our own students learn and progress with their own dancing, and the enjoyment they get from it. Long may it continue...

I've Been Tango'd

2007-12-20T23:09:00.000Z

Maybe you've been watching Strictly Come Dancing this season?
Maybe you saw it last week with the contestants tackling the Argentine Tango?
Well, that's me, that is!
Okay, not exactly me but I have for the last three months, been applying myself to learning the art that is Argentine Tango.
I'd done a couple of taster Tango classes at 12th Night Congresses etc but it had never really captured my imagination. The closest I got to feeling inspired was watching Bill Newby and Ruth Gellar dance a demonstration at last January's 12th Night and to be fair, I was gobsmacked. So dramatic. So elegant. So I would NEVER be able to do that. I kinf of thought that one day I might start learning but never really got around to fitting it into my already busy life.
Then at the Latin XCes Bradford All Dayer in September things took a turn for the unexpected. I was there for the day in my capacity as salsa teacher, and dipping into classes where they were short of leaders, before teaching Dips with Trisha later in the afternoon. Bill and Ruth were there, running Tango taster classes but frankly I had no interest at all. Having done taster classes before with another teacher (Pedro) I'd decided that yeah, maybe I'd take it up properly one day, but really didn't want to do any more tasters. However, having successfully managed to avoid Bill and Ruth's first class, I was dragged kicking and screaming into their second by one of my own salsa students (turncoat!) and to my surprise, really, REALLY enjoyed it. Bill and Ruth are so far ahead of Pedro in teaching ability and inspiration and before I knew what I was doing, I was going through some Tango motions and even feeling a little dramatic and elegant myself. Flippin' eck, I thought, if Bill can get me doing this in just an hour, imagine what he could get me doing in an hour every week....

So that was it. Bill is based in Sheffield, which coincidentally is where I'm based with my day job, so it's not too inconvenient to pop along on a Tuesday evening after Fat Club (see a previous post). So pop along I have, every week for the last two and half months, subject to other, salsa earning commitments. I'm still only just beginning my journey but it's a really interesting one, replete with paralells to the salsa journey I started five years ago. Because I've already trodden the path, so to speak, I've a head start not only in the lead/follow dynamic, but also in an awareness of where I am in terms of my level and understanding of the dance. I stumble around the dance floor during drills and partnerwork, relishing the moment and watching others who are more comfortable than me. I can still remember occasions in my early salsa life where I'd look at other people that seemed so comfortable in the dance and wonder when I'd be like that, and now it's the same with Tango, only more so because I'm more aware of the journey itself.

I can still remember the first time in salsa when I actually felt like I was dancing. In fact there were two times that really spring to mind, one in class (probably about my fourth class), three weeks in and one after class when I was just starting to find my feet with freestyle salsa, about two months later.

On Tuesday of this week, I felt the same way. After weeks of drilling and practice, I actually danced Tango this week. Really danced. Nothing fancy, you understand, mostly walking and sidesteps with a few ochos thrown in for good measure, but I was dancing nevertheless. The thing that really came through and made it for me was the connection with my partner throughout the dance. We'd just been doing some ocho work together and Bill stuck some music on and left us to it for a track. Liz snaked her arm around my neck and leaned in close. Much closer that I was used to, but suddenly, the closeness made sense of all the "Lead with the shoulders, not the arms" that Bill has been repeating over the last few weeks. I'm not saying there were no mistakes, but for that track, Liz and I danced, for the large part of it, as one. It was beautiful, and was a taste, I believe, of so much more yet to come.

Eat The Elephant

2007-12-07T00:34:00.000Z

Did you ever have something you knew you should do but for one reason or another just didn't get started? And then, later, when you knew you still, really should to it, it was bigger now and scarier? And later still, it's grown into this REALLY BIG THING that's so massive you just don't know what to do with it, it's so gigantically huge?
If this doesn't strike a chord then you're probably one of those folk that just do stuff when they're supposed to. I'm not. Well, sometimes I'm not, but sometimes things get away from me.
Planning lessons, doing tax returns, filing business accounts, decorating the house, and updating my blog are all things that have seemed to grow out of all proportion.
I see it's over two months since I last updated my blog, and as I've mentioned before, it's my intention to keep it much more up to date than this. Especially as so much has happened, salsa wise and life wise since my last entry.But then because so much has happened, it's like - where do I start?
I've actually written at least three blog entries, but never got around to posting them, and then re-reading them, they seemed out of date, and not worth posting. So like I say - where to start?

There's an old adage; The longest journey starts with a single step.
there's another one; If you need to eat an elephant, then do it one bite at a time.
So this is my step. My first bite, in an attempt to eat this elephant (white elephant?) that my blog seems to have become. None of which yet really tells you, the reader, anything at all.

Well... In a nutshell, since I last wrote, Trisha and I are expecting again. currently about 15 weeks and due towards the end of May 2008. We are absolutely thrilled, though Trisha has been suffering with sickness and nausea that no amount of ginger beer seems to be able to fix. Don't know yet whether it's a boy or a girl but we'll probably find out if we can. We did with Luca and were glad to know. Because we knew he was a boy, we were able to give him a name and relate to him better whilst he was still in the womb. What can I say - it works for us. I'm sometimes quietly amused when people suggest that you shouldn't find out in advance because then it'll be a surprise. I reckon it's not going to be that much of a surprise as the options are somewhat limited. I mean, it's either going to be a boy or a girl. It's not going to be an elephant. That really would be a surprise. And not just for us either.

Not long after we found we were expecting we were off to teach at Salsa Headway at Pontins Pakefield for a weekend. Trisha and I have always been in awe of the Pontins events and even though this was a smaller, low key affair, aimed mainly at beginners and improvers, we felt honoured to be invited to teach there. My mum and dad came along too to babysit with Luca whilst we were teaching, and during the parties. This was great as my mum and dad live about 150 miles away from us in Wales so they don't get to see Luca (or us) as often as we'd like. Watching him getting to know them a little (and vice versa) was lovely. Luca seemed to pick up on the fact that my dad was struggling a bit health wise and seemed to be a little more gentle around him. Maybe we were imagining it, but I like to think not. Teaching-wise, the weekend went really well - we got excellent feedback from both dancers and organisers so we were really chuffed.

A month later saw me jetting off to Guernsey for a weekend, this time by myself, to teach at a weekender there organised by Heidi Almonte. This turned out to be completely manic, partly because I got about 9 hours sleep over the course of three days, and partly because I ended up teaching 5 hours privates into 24 hours, alongside my group class schedule, which was already stretched due to another teacher's ill health. You know what - I loved it! I was really pleased to get more brilliant feedback (it's all gone straight to my head, of course) and I've already been invited back for a weekend in March next year so I'm really looking forward to that.

And now it's nearly Christmas! I suppose I'd better do some shopping...

There. That wasn't so bad, was it. I didn't get into quite the detail I might have liked but it'll do to be going on with. I really, really will endeavour to update more frequently. Honest I will.
And remember - if you read this - drop me a line and let me know - just so I know I'm not alone...
Until next time, Deej

My Dad's Got a PC!

2007-09-28T23:29:00.000Z

My mum and dad have bought a PC. They've never had a computer before but decided that the time has come when they are starting to feel left behind in this current, digital age and they want to catch up. There are so many “dot-com” adverts around, on television, on billboards, on buses etc, that they were beginning to feel at a disadvantage, particularly when for holidays or car insurance for example, there’s often the celebrated “10% discount if you buy online” to reckon with. For ages Mum and Dad fought the trend to dive into the digital pond, having heard stories of bank fraud, phone jacking, identity theft and such, but finally they succumbed and came home one day with a spanking new laptop and printer.

My dad is nothing if not thorough and he made sure he read up thoroughly on broadband connections but unfortunately being a complete novice in this particular arena, none of it made much sense to him. Even his old friend British Telecom seemed to be talking in Greek; Norton monthly wireless hub with wi-fi and home hub security and hub phone. What does it all mean? Even the payment plan made no sense. Half price for three months billed as credit on your first bill? What’s that all about?

Undeterred, with help from my brother and myself, he waded through the jargon and decided to bite the bullet and go the whole hog (I’ve always loved mixing metaphors) ordering BT’s top line connection, including a man who comes and sets it all up for you. The thought of Dad trying to set it all up himself having no prior knowledge filled all of us with dread so this seemed like the best option.

I’d just got home from shopping on the Sunday afternoon when the phone call came.

“Help!” was the cry, “I think I’ve broken it!”Following a fruitless hour and a half on the phone, trying to visualise what he was seeing without a great deal of success and no nearer to a solution, I told him to hang on whilst I popped round. Unfortunately, as I live in York and Dad lives on the other side of the Welsh border, popping round means two and a half hours each way. I don’t mind, he is my Dad after all, and as I argued when he objected to me driving all that way, I often drive further for work, so I’m kind of used to it. In the event I was really glad I did, as I never would have sorted it over the phone. By the time I left, Dad could get into his emails again so all was to the good.

Last weekend, Mum and Dad visited us in York and partway through the afternoon, Dad sheepishly admitted he was still having problems. He’d got the laptop in his boot – could I have a look? He’d bought a Bluetooth dongle in order to transfer pictures from his phone to the PC, but hadn’t been able to install it as the drivers supplied were for Windows XP. My brother had downloaded drivers from the manufacturer’s website for him, but he was still struggling to make it work.I really feel for him. I like to think I’m reasonably computer literate (my day job is in I.T.) but having now struggled with Vista myself even just to achieve basic things, I dread to think what it must be like for anyone coming to it with no prior experince of computing at all. There’s so much information on the screen at any time, it’s near impossible for a newcomer to understand which bits of it are important or indeed relevant, and which aren’t.

Following further problems with his BT email facility – it just doesn’t appear to be compatible with his PC – I’ve spent two lunchtimes on the phone to him this week (one of these spent learning that MSN Hotmail just repeatedly killed his browser!) resulting in setting up a GoogleMail account and coaching him in its use. This now appears to be working. Which is nice. I’ve always admired my dad’s persistence but more so now than ever as I know he’s been tempted to throw “that damn computer” out of the window on several occasions and is currently putting a great deal more into it than he’s getting out. But he sticks at it, just like I’ve seen him do with everything else in life (did I mention, he once made me a car) and refuses to be beaten. His tenacity is slowly paying off - in the last couple fo days I've arranged for him to receive "Vista For Dummies" (Amazon's great isn't it?) and with its help he's been able to save some attached pictures of Luca that I've sent him. He's ahead of me in a way as I've only just tonight figured out how to post pictures on this here blog thingy. Maybe one day Dad’ll find his way in here. If he does he’ll find a warm welcome waiting…

"Hi Dad! ‘Kettle’s on, you just sit down and put your feet up and I'll be right there..."

Dance Off

2007-09-15T01:34:00.000Z

I enjoyed tonight. My back's knackered but I still enjoyed it. I went out dancing, but only danced about 10 dances total in three hours! And most of those were in the first half hour.
Basically I did my back catching Luca from falling through a climbing frame just over a week ago and it's not been right since.
We taught in Newcastle last Friday and after wincing my way through the lesson (I think I just about managed it without anyone noticing) I didn't dance at all. It was still fun watching, though. I do like to see people enjoying their dancing. And Trisha reported that during the course of the evening, several leads put into practice the turn pattern we'd taught in class. Which was nice.

My back seemed to improve through the week though today it's taken a turn for the worse again. Friends have now started telling me I need to go and see a chiropractor. Sounds a bit scary to me - I'll see how it is after the weekend.

There was a class tonight at the Engine Shed, taught by Rotherham salsa teachers Ian Proctor and Margaret Chapman. I didn't take part but enjoyed doing a Len Goodman (my friend Sylvia played Arlene Philips) from the sidelines. The class was billed as an intermediate/advanced but unfortunately at one point Ian found himself having to teach the concept of "Touch & Go" turns. If you're reading this from a non-salsa point of view, then you'll have no idea what I'm talking about, but if you're an intermediate level (or above) salsa dancer then you ought to know exactly what I mean. I say ought to, but of course, levels change between different teachers, different clubs, different towns, etc and one of the hardest jobs for a guest teacher is setting the level for a class filled with people they don't know from Adam. We seem to be able to get it spot on at Newcastle every time but when we taught at the Engine Shed in February we pitched it far too high and prepared a turn pattern replete with at least four "non-orthodox" moves many wouldn't have seen before, in a routine that was simply too long. to be honest, when we ran the same lesson past our own intermediate class at Wetherby the following week, we struggled to get through it, though admittedly we were adding a fair amount of detail.
Since then we've honed the way we approach guest teaching, and in fact teaching in general, trying to give the dancers something they can use, either in routine or in technique, that's concise enough for them to be able to remember (and use) more than 5 minutes after the class has finished. We don't always get it right (except for Newcastle, of course) but we're trying, and I believe we're improving.
Maybe my back will improve soon, too...?

A Funny Thing Happened To Me

2007-09-01T02:00:00.000Z

I had a salsa first tonight. Not the first time I've danced salsa, obviously, as any regular readers (are there any regular readers? Haven't heard from Gary and Jan in a while) will know. I've danced On2 (ET2) before many times as well as I mentioned a couple of months ago but until tonight, I'd never danced On2 by accident...
It happened like this...
I was over to Gillian and Martin Heaton's Salsa Fix bash again in Horwich (www.salsafix.com), with friends Phil and Kate who help out at our clubnights. From when we arrived I had a great time, first dancing with a few familiar faces (are you STILL nervous, Jackie?) then moving on through some unknown ones. After dancing with Gillian she pointed out a friend of hers and told me I must go and dance with her. So a few records later I sought out Vanessa and asked her for a dance. Walking out onto the floor I began to question my timing as the music was distinctly jazzy, plinky, plonky Mambo stuff. Turned out to be a salsa jazz version of "My Favourite Things". Anyway - it was definitely "On2" music and for a fleeting moment I wondered about asking Vanessa if she danced On2 before deciding that I wanted nothing to do with all that On2 malarky tonight as it wasn't a training exercise - I was just there to enjoy myself. So off we pop On1 and then before you can say supercallyfrajilisticexpiallydocious (oops, sorry, wrong musical) I suddenly found myself dancing On2, having swapped without realising it! Seems it was in me all along and just needed the right music to bring it out! Fortunately Vanessa could dance perfectly well On2 too and we had a lovely dance.
Thanks once again to Gillian and Martin for organising the do, and thanks to all the ladies (and Steve) that danced with me and helped make my evening a real pleasure.

Chunli Wu

2007-08-11T01:11:00.000Z

I don't spend all my time thinking about salsa.
No, really it's true. I mean ok, I spend a lot of time thinking about salsa but there's other stuff too.

Stuff like our little boy Luca, now nearly 18 months old (where the heck did that go!?!).
Luca is an absolute joy - don't get me wrong, he has his tantrums and is by no means sweetness and light the whole time, but he's awakened a part of me that I never knew existed and I find myself almost bursting with it sometimes. Trisha and I make no attempt to disguise the fact that one of the reasons we teach salsa (besides the fact that we love it) is that it's an extra source of revenue which means Trisha can stay at home and be a full time mum, giving Luca all the care and attention he needs. We're not what we'd call well off - we're really stuggling to save up to buy our own place - but we're not on the breadline either and it's pretty certain that Luca is going to get everything he needs, if not necessarily everything he wants. When occasionally he's poorly it tears my heart more than I would have ever thought possible. He's had a couple of bouts of croop over the last few months and Trisha and I have struggled to hold back the tears, nursing him whilst he struggles for breath. This got me thinking...

When Luca has croop, we can use a steroid inhaler, and we can put the kettle on to increase humidity and we can give him water or diluted juice so he doesn't get dehydrated. Parents the world over feel the same love for their children as we do for Luca, so how would it be then, if we didn't have access to medicines and steroid inhalers, if we had no electricity to boil a kettle, no juice and water that had to be brought up from a well and wasn't actually safe to drink? There are families that are living in these conditions and worse, and knowing the anguish I feel when Luca's not well, I can only begin to imagine what it must be like for the parents who haven't even got the means to feed their children, let alone give them medicine when they need it.

I haven't got a lot of spare cash - in fact I'm technically more skint than I've been for years - I'm earning about half what I did four years ago, and now am providing for a family of three, not just for myself. But I'm not starving and neither is my family. I've got safe, clean water to drink and so has my family. Luca will always be well clothed appropriately for the weather, and his mum makes certain there are no shortage of toys for him to play with. In time he'll go to school, where suitably qualified teachers will give him a good education.

So I decided to make a difference. Not a big difference, but a difference just the same.
I remembered from a donating to Action Aid a few years ago that they run child sponsorship schemes and got in touch to find out more about it.
Suffice to say, that in a poverty stricken region of Western China a ten year old girl called Chunli Wu should now maybe get safe water to drink and maybe even medicine if she falls ill. The small donation I'm making each month will help her and the community around her build something of a better future for Chunli Wu and her family and friends. Whilst I get a lump in my throat and start to fill up with tears when I think of the parents who can only watch their children starve as they themselves do likewise, I feel good to know that for one little Chinese girl called Chunli Wu and those around her, I'm making a difference.

This for me is a very personal thing and I certainly didn't feel this way before Luca arrived, but if you're interested in maybe helping another child, or another community that doesn't have the same benefits as you, then you can find Action Aid at http://www.actionaid.org.uk/ - No pressure, like I say, it's a personal thing.

It's been a while (sorry)

2007-06-21T11:45:00.000Z

So, what’s happening? It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’m a bit disappointed with myself about this. When I first opened the blog it was my intention to write something every week, or every couple of weeks, at least. But it’s been nearly a month since my last entry. Shame on me.
As I teach salsa, I did wonder for a while about publishing a description of what I’ve taught this week, but;
A) Any description of a move is subject to a lot of descriptions that no one but me is likely to understand, and
B) Readers would soon realise I just teach the same stuff over and over!
So I decided against it. Come to my classes instead, if you want to see what I’m teaching currently.
You can catch me away from my own clubnights too, as we do guest quite often for other promoters, as regular readers will know. We were up in Newcastle again last month and back there again next week (Friday 29th June), which reminds me, we must think of something to teach.
David and Margaret, who run Salsa Amor at the Black Swan in Newcastle each Friday, told us when they invited us up last time that we were welcome to bring our own club members with us and I’m pleased to say that a good few of them braved the bank holiday weekend traffic on the A1 and made the journey. One couple were so enthusiastic they arranged a hotel so they could stop over. Thanks to Laura too, who came in the car with Trisha and I, and kept me awake on the drive home whilst Trisha was snoring in the back seat.
Laura joined me again the following week when we, along with Phil from the Strictly Salsa team, made a trip over the Pennines to dance at Horwich RMI at Gillian Heaton’s “Salsa Fix” event (www.salsafix.co.uk). I’d only conversed with Gillian (or Jambo) via the internet (www.salsaforums.com) previously but she’d raved about her Salsa Fix parties with such enthusiasm that we decided we had to check it out for ourselves. Passports in order, we crossed the hills and weren’t disappointed. We received a very warm welcome and had a brilliant night’s dancing to some top music, with some lovely partners. Nice dance floor too. Best fun of the night for me had to be when Phil and I took turns swapping Gillian between us for a dance. At one point I was leading her through a multiple, circular travelling turn when Phil took over the lead and seamlessly switched leaders mid turn. Nice (how did he do that?!). There were lots of other nice dancers there too – including teachers Paris, Brigitte and Franklyn.
I didn’t recognise Brigitte at first; I saw a girl across the dancefloor with lots of hair and pink flowery dress, dancing with Paris and decided to ask her for a dance. Having asked her a little while later, it wasn’t until we’d been together a few seconds that I realised I knew who she was.
Later on I got a scare for a minute when a couple approached me and the guy started shouting at me and waving his arms around frantically! Resisting the urge to turn and run away, I eventually heard him over the music (he was standing in front of a speaker, so this wasn’t easy) and learnt that the couple are in fact readers of this very blog. Not only that, but the only people who, to date at least) have left a comment for me.
Hiya Gary and Jan – how’re ya doing?
It was good to meet you again and encouraging for me that could remember the lesson Trisha and I taught at the Bradford All-Dayer. Incidentally, I learnt yesterday that the next Bradford All-Dayer is to be held on Saturday 22nd September. We’ve been asked to teach again and we’re looking forward to it already.
Trisha and I managed to get out dancing together last weekend! It doesn’t happen often as we already call on our baby sitter twice every week so we can teach together, and then once or twice a month when we do guest teaching spots we have to draft in the parents to cover for us so we have to be careful not to overuse the goodwill of those concerned. My mum and dad are joining us in Pakefield in October for the whole weekend, bless ‘em, and Trisha’s mum seems for ever to be traipsing back and forth on the A64 from Scarby.
However we managed to get out on sunday evening and had a good night at Encuentro Latino’s “Montuno Lounge” event, held at the Gallery night club in York. Taking a cue from the salsa scene in New York, these events are early evening, 6-10pm, giving dancers a chance to get a good few hours dancing and still get to bed at a reasonable hour to get up for work on Monday morning. As Encuentro Latino teach exclusively On2 (ET2) most there were On2 dancers, giving Trisha and I an opportunity to hone our own On2 skills (which in my case, need honing). We can dance On2 ok, but we’re nowhere near as familiar and as comfortable as we are On1 so it was nice to get the opportunity with some seasoned "On2-ers". I danced with a few ladies who offered me the On1 option but until the end of the night, when Trisha and I finally rebelled and went Cuban, it was pretty much On2 all the way. I even had another dance following Steve Carter – what a guy! Though we were both wearing white shirts and were described afterwards as “Two Polar bears in a wrestling match” !!! Thanks to Lossie and Gareth of www.encuentrolatino.co.uk and well done to Sue, Sally and Rita who all made the plunge from our own Strictly Salsa.

I did have the intention of posting some pics this time. Sorry – I’ve failed again, however if you can see some from own clubnights at www.strictlysalsa.co.uk/pics or from Gillian’s Salsa Fix party, go to the www.salsafix.co.uk site and click on the “To view all the photos from the night” link.Last time we went to Newcastle, I took my camera but was so absorbed in the dancing I forgot to use it. Maybe next time…

Party On

2007-05-24T17:08:00.000Z

Went to a great party last Saturday. One of our students turns 40 in August and her husband wanted to surprise her with a trip to Singapore. Unfortunately destination far east requires multiple innoculations, three months in advance and he figured it'd be kind of difficult to get her injected without her noticing. So instead, he arranged a party for her and time-shifted her "official" birthday (eeh, she's just like the Queen; two birthdays!) forward three months, so he could still surprise her with her trip. For weeks he's been scheming with friends and family and whilst not normally brilliant at keeping secrets he's played an absolute blinder with this and she suspected nothing. Indeed when she walked in, expecting just to pick up her friend to go to a fashion show, and 40 of us shouted "Surprise!" she was totally flummoxed."They can't mean me," she was thinking, "it's not my birthday!" The look on her her face as the reality dawned was classic.And what a lovely party too. Hosts were friends of the birthday girl who have a large house (complete with big garden) on the edge of Harrogate. It was a daytime affair so Trisha and I were both able to go, taking Luca along with us. He loved the garden, running around chasing any girl that happened to be wearing pink. He seems to have developed this fascination for pink. I'm not sure if I should be concerned...I was driving so Trisha had a couple of glasses of wine and was decidedly squiffy by the time we left. She doesn't drink a lot these days and it went straight to her head. She spent most of the journey home to York fast asleep.
Saturday evening, and I had a date with The Asterdale Club in Borrowash. Miguel Havana (Havana Nights, Leicester), one of my favourite cuban style teachers was taking class for Lee hunter, who, under the guise of Absolute Salsa, runs the bashes at the Asterdale. The turnout last Saturday was the smallest I've seen at the Asterdale and even though it busied up a little later, it still remained essentially quiet.I thouroughly enjoyed Miguel's lesson, stuff I've kind of done before with with new twists and variations that I haven't previously tried. Nice. I thoroughly enjoyed dancing with his co-teachers Georgiana and Marilyn too. I especially enjoyed dancing with a friend from Notts who I haven't seen in over a year. I probably overdid it - we must have had six or seven dances throughout the evening, but like I say it was quiet and she didn't seem to mind. I spent most of the evening on the dancefloor and wished someone else was driving home but alas I'd come by myself, unable to whip up a posse due to half my regular crowd being away in Spain at the moment. I was so tired I had to pull over and take a 30 minute nap on the way home. Thanks to Trisha for letting me enjoy a lie in on Sunday morning.
Off up to Newcastle tomorrow evening to The Black Swan, teaching for David and Margaret Blackmore's Salsa Amor (www.salsanewcastle.co.uk). Looking forward to it too. We didn't know what to expect the first time we went up there, in February but in the event, found as warm and friendly a buch of folk as you could wish for. They seemed to like us too - they keep inviting us back anyway. As well as tomorrow we're already booked for June 29th. Come and say "Hi" if you're there, and as always, any comments left to let me know I'm not alone in the Online World will be most welcome.Until next time, by which time I may have learnt how to post some piccies onto this blog thingy...

I'm not alone! Bradford All-Day

2007-05-08T13:24:00.000Z

Hey! Someone read my blog! I know coz they left a comment for me! Thanks Gary & Jan - it's nice to know I'm not just writing to myself.

Had a quiet night in on Friday, then up with t'little one early Saturday morning - he likes to be up before 7am - no idea where he gets this from, certainly not me!Then hand-over to Trisha and off I went to Bradford for the Latin XCes All-Dayer. I was booked to teach at 6pm but wanted to get some of our new flyers out on the desk so they'd be there all day and also wanted to hang out generally and do a few classes with other teachers. I spend most of my salsa time teaching myself these days that it's nice when I have the opportunity to go and catch a class with someone else.

First up was Nicolai and Helena with an intro to Cuban Salsa. I always enjoy classes with N & H (they were amongst my first teachers when I started) and they don't seem to mind too much when I heckle from the sidelines. Gotta say actually, that Nicolai in particular has had a massive influence on my salsa teaching career - starting when he didn't show up to teach class one Monday and I had to step in and help Caroline out with a routine. Over the next few months he encouraged me to do more and more, and continues as a source of inspiration for me.Anyway back on subject. I did a cross-body turn pattern lesson with Ces and Kerry (which I've since forgotten, shame, coz I enjoyed it at the time - that much I can remember) and then caught a Bachata lesson with them in the afternoon, before leaving to collect Trisha for our dips class. A year ago I'd used to hate Bachata but I had a turning point on holiday last year whilst watching a couple of friends. They were so in sync, the way their bodies were snaking together, it opened up a whole new world for me, that I've since been quietly warming to. There was one particular partner in Saturday's lesson (you know who you are!) that I just seemed to click with and we really seemed to find the root of the dance between us (not that there was a great deal of rom between us - it was Bachata, after all).

And then our Dips Class...We're always a little bit wary of teaching dips etc as there is so much potential for injury when not done well, and we never know what sort of standard we're going to get in the class. As usual there was a real mixture of abilities, but most seemed to be picking up on the essence of what we tried to put across, and to my knowledge no injuries ensued. Which is nice. We had three types that we wanted to teach and they were all well received. The first was a slightly complicated kind of triple combination that we spent quite a lot of time on, but it was nice to see pretty much everyone doing it well. I've gotta say we got the LOUDEST and longest cheer at the end of it that I've ever experienced. Thank you all! Hopefully Ces will have us back later in the year to do some more?
If you see me, let me know; "Deej - I read your blog!"

Where's Luca?

2007-04-30T16:05:00.000Z

For years I tended to steer clear of proud dads. You know the sort - those who've got kids and just can't stop talking about them. However, I remember once, years ago, in my first job, there was an exception to this. I can't remember the fella's name now as it was well over 20 years ago but I was working with a bloke who had young children and whilst he never pushed conversations about them on anyone, when he did talk about them his face used to light up and he became so animated, so filled with life. I can't actually remember his face but I'll never forget the expression I used to see on it. I think it's kind of the expression I have on mine these days, when I think of Luca and his latest "cute" moment.
We play a game with him after bath, where we cover his face with a towel and ask "Where's Luca?" He then pulls the towel off his face and beams at us with a big toothy grin.
Occasionally I'll carry him sat up on my shoulders (holding tight to his feet). Obviously I can't see his face whilst he's up there, but Trisha tells me he sit's up like he's king of the world, proudly sat on his dad's shoulders. I was carrying him like this during the weekly shop last weekend, when I felt his weight shift sideways. And next thing I know, there he was, leaning down to one side, craned over looking at me in the face with this huge smile. He then sat up straight and a couple of seconds later, shifted his weight again, this time to the other side. I turned my head, and there he was again,leaning down the other way now. Talk about cute! He repeated it a few times until he got bored (he is only 14 months old, after all) and his attention went elsewhere.
On Sunday afternoon we had a trip to the park and I was carrying him on my shoulders again. I had an idea and wondered if he'd understand."Where's Luca?" I asked loudly, looking around. Sure enough, I felt his weight lean and there he was, with a big grin as he leant over to look me in the eye. Makes me go all warm and mushy just thinking about it.

The Patter Of Tiny Feet (And Bigger Feet Too)

2007-04-27T16:51:00.000Z

I was lying in bed, ready to get up the other morning, listening to the patter of tiny feet. I couldn't help but smile. Luca, our 14 month old son is a true joy. When he smiles he really does brighten up the room. Weird that I never wanted children at all until I met Trisha (in fact I definitely wanted NOT to have any children) but now we've got our little Luciano it's difficult to imagine life without him. Sure there are sacrifices; I don't get as much dancing in as I used to. I've not been to any weekenders or holidays this year, nor am I likely to except when teaching, and I've not ridden my bike (Yamaha TDM850) since last September. But you know what? When Luca smiles, absolutely none of this matters. He loves being swung between my legs and up over my head, and he loves it when I tickle his tummy with my nose or lie him on top of my head and ask Trisha "where's Luca gone?" His laugh is like a giggling brook that sometimes squeals just with the delight of being there. He's brilliant. His Mum's brilliant too, just for the record. Four years on I still sometimes look at her and wonder what she sees in me? Whatever it is, I'm glad of it, that's for sure.
Had a BIG smile at our Wednesday class this week too. We exercise an "invitation only" policy on our intermediate classes, not because we're elitist but because we're concerned that we want to be able to teach consistently at a high standard and allowing dancers into the class that aren't of a standard to cope is frustrating both for us as teachers and for the other dancers in the class. We do endeavour to be as objective as possible when assessing dancers for our classes and it's always a joy when someone makes the grade for the first time, more so if they've been trying hard and pushing themselves to reach the standard required. I've been working with one such lady for a couple of weeks - I've always enjoyed dancing with her but she had a lot of barely controlled energy that was getting in her way and we worked on this together. Then this week, I took some time out to do some more work with her and suddenly, bam! It's like she's a different dancer! Everything we've spoken about has been put into practice and she's now got lovely, precise control matched to a lovely understated style. Her turns (both travelling turns and double spins) have suddenly become so much easier to lead and she's round and done beautifully in time to be led into whatever's coming next. Like I said - I've always enjoyed dancing with her but now she's a real treasure. When Trisha and I started teaching together a few years ago, we set our personal goal to "teach people to dance so that we would love dancing with them" (we're pretty self-serving, really).
Sylvia (for that is the name of the lady concerned) is one lady in whom our mission is fulfilled. I hope she's there tonight...

Dance the weekends away

2007-04-19T12:19:00.000Z

After an alarming phone call on Saturday morning;
"Hello, we're afraid there's a double booking so you can't use the room on Wednesday..."
we had a frantic couple of days where we attempted to contact our dancers and let them know we'd be dancing Thursday this week instead of Wednesday. We HATE it when this sort of thing happens, especially with all the venue problems we've had over the last three months. Apart from making us look unprofessional (and we try REALLY hard to be as professional as we can) it annoys our dancers, some of whom may not return to us when it's all settled down again. Hopefully it's not going to happen again, but Tuesday saw me visiting a neighbouring club to try and warn dancers for whom we don't have contact details, and Wednesday saw me waiting outside the our venue to intercept any who'd slipped through the net. Good thing I did too as five folk showed up whilst I was there waiting. Fortunately as I was there I think we managed to retain their good will with an apology for incovenience and promise of a free night by way of compensation.
Sometimes with all the hassle of running a club we lose can lose sight of why we love salsa so much.
Other times though, I'm reminded and such a time was the regular social evening at the Engine Shed in Wetherby, last Friday. Trisha was left at home holding the baby, or more accurately, watching American Idol, whilst I togged up and set out for a night's dancing.
We all have good nights and bad but last Friday I was on a roll, and spent most of the evening on the dancefloor with a host of lovely ladies (and bloke - "Hi Ric!"). It was a lovely feeling when I realised that some of the most enjoyable dances I had were with dancers from our own clubs, that we'd taught. When Trisha and I set our stall out and started teaching together nearly three years ago, we embarked on a mission to teach people to dance the best they could so that they'd be dancers we would want to dance with. Well, we're getting there and it's a fantastic feeling to dance with someone (or watch them dance) and know that this is something we've given them.
Then Sunday evening was the first Sunday Social ("Montuno Lounge") in York, hosted by friends Lossie and Gareth at the Gallery nightclub. I went along to offer my support and found that is was buzzing, albeit buzzing mainly On2. I had a good laugh with Paula, the lady on the door. Lossie and Gareth used to run these a couple of years ago and I always used to have a joke with Paula about searching for my name on the guest list - which, much to Paula's amusement, it never was. This time however - as a local teacher/promoter L & G feel I now warrant a mention on their guest list, which is nice. Paula was gutted. There were quite a few over from Hull etc dancing On1 so it wasn't a New-Yorican monopoly but the emphasis was certainly On2. No problem there - I can use the practice. Weird thing is, I can dance at a reasonable standard On2 with a reasonable partner, but show me an On2 beginner and it all goes to pieces. I'm not comfortable enough with the rythm to cope with beginners the same as I do almost effortlessly when dancing On1. Like I say - I need the practice.
On to tonight. How many will turn up? We've already heard from a few that have said they can't make Thursdays so we're expecting numbers to be down again. I guess we'll have to just wait and see.
Looking forward, today we've sealed a deal with our local radio station and starting next week we'll be getting a regular mention on Minster FM's Party Anthems weekend show. We're desperate to fill both our York and Wetherby clubs again and hope this will help. Maybe you could join us?
Deej
All comments welcome - even the ones that just say "Hi"

Fat Club

2007-04-12T23:23:00.000Z

I go to Fat Club. No, really, I do. Ok so they don't actually call it Fat club (they call it Weightwatchers) and we don't sit around saying things like;
"Hello everyone. My name's Deej. I'm a fatty."
I first started Fat Club the week I first went salsa dancing. My weight and I had grown to silly proportions - I'd lost a great deal of self respect and decided to do something positive about it. Over the next few months, I managed to lose about 3 stone (42 lbs). Sounds good but I really could have done with losing twice that. What I did gain was a new zest for life and a great deal of self respect. I stopped going to Fat Club because after a few successful weight loss months (I'm sure the dancing helped) I figured I knew the system, I knew what I needed to do but I resented paying a fiver each week just to stand on some scales. Especially when I had a nifty set of electronic scales at home. One of my colleagues prophesied that not only would I stop losing, but I'd put it back on again. It took time, but sure enough he was right. Eventually, over the last four years, the weight, and with it my bulk, has slowly built up again, not quite getting to the mammoth proportions of yesteryear but enough to once again rob me of my self respect and scare my partner Trisha with the thought of premature death (history of heart disease in my family) and not being around for our son, Luca.
So once again, positive action was required. I've realised over the last few months, that it WAS the weightwatchers meetings were what was really helping - and the results are definitely worth a fiver. If it's constantly in my head because I'm being repeatedlybrainwashed every week, then I actually find it relatively easy to eat healthily and sensibly and as expected, the weight is now coming off again. Don't get me wrong - I'm no skinny yet and won't be probably ever, but I'm 13 lbs less of a fatty than I was 2 months ago and for me that's a big step in the right direction.
Now, if I can just find some more salsa events to go to so I can burn off more of it...

If you've read all this - please leave a comment, even just to say hi so I know I'm not alone.

Easter Funday

2007-04-11T01:00:00.000Z

We love teaching in Newcastle!
Trisha and I were back up to Salsa Amor at the Black Swan (www.salsanewcastle.co.uk) on Good Friday. What an amazing crowd! Having taught there previously in February, we were welcomed back with open arms not only by our hosts David and Margaret but also by the dancers there gathered. We ran two lessons (Beginners, and Improver/Intermediate) and both went really well. And the feedback we got was fantastic. So many people coming up to us individually afterwards and telling us how much they'd enjoyed our lesson. We felt all warm inside on the way home. In fact I still do.
We also both had some lovely dances, probably most notably with Tony Mee (yep, both of us, though not at the same time!) - up from London for the weekend. Cheers Tony. Cheers everyone...

Last night was Easter Monday so we weren't expecting many at our York Clubnight, and as expected, numbers were well down on usual. We didn't care though and those of us there had a brilliant rueda session with some hilarious results. Our friend Ashley was taking pictures for our website and she had no problem finding happy smiling faces to photograph. Trisha generally hates Rueda as she was tortured with week after week of beginners rueda during her first months of salsa, but even she enjoyed herself last night. More to come tomorrow and next week.

The biggest news for us though, was last Wednesday's move to our new Wetherby venue. Our previous haunt, The Grantham Arms in Boroughbridge was just no longer big enough for us after it lost some dancefloor space during the refurbishment so we've had to not only move 15 miles but we've had to switch to Wednesdays too. Our first Wednesday was last week and we set off with a fantastic night. We've inherited some dancers from Ces' club that was there previously and we were pleased to find that we were able to welcome most of them into our Improvers class, with the rest not far behind. Also a milestone was that we probably had our largest improvers class yet which is lovely to see as it means that our dancers are not only sticking with us, but improving as well. (For those that don't come to our club - we control the level of dancers in each of our classes quite carefully in order to maintain our teaching standard.)

And then my Mum and Dad were up for the weekend, to spend some time with our son Luca. Mum and Dad live in Wales and don't see as much of Luca as they (or we) would like, so it's great when we all get to spend quality time together. We had a couple of days out and the weather was fantastic. Blue skies and sunshine all the way.

One last mention to Nick who dances with us. Mate - you're an inspiration! Watching you struggle at first, then eventually crack it and enjoy it, is something I will never tire of. And the way you think of everything differently to me is so funny but really keeps me on my toes. Long may you continue with us.