DJ Bob Ball returns to Dartford on Thursday!

We are pleased to announce the return of DJ Bob Ball to Dartford on Thursday.

DJ Bob specialises in Modern Jive dance music being resident at Le Roc venues in East Sussex.

He played some great sets last weekend at Warmwell ... and ladies DJ Bob is a lovely dancer so if he able to leave the decks at all please ask him for a dance.

WARMWELL - wow what a weekend!

As you can see from the photographs (and I didnt catch everyone as I was so busy dancing myself) a great time was had by all at The Party Weekender at Warmwell. We also arranged a surprise birthday party for Tracy and boy was she surprised!

We were told after the weekend in November that Darren the organiswer was going to make some changes and he did!
- Less bands but he still brought live music to the weekender, "it's what we're all about" and the bands were great!
- A separate dance floor for more classes during the day, plus freestyle when the bands are on - plus it was a blues room from 9pm until 2am.

I personally had a great weekend and spent most of my nights in the Blues Room - I have now become one of the weekend regulars and have booked my chalet for November and beyond.

Come to Warmwell - put the date in your diary: 7-9 November. Its the 10th Anniversary so places will sell out fast! If you dont know what to expect ask any of the people who have been before!

We are off to the Party Weekender in Weymouth!

Today a group of DR dancers and crew are heading off to Warmwell in Dorset for Jive Leisure's Party Weekender. For those of you who want a last minute getaway this weekend, there are a few cabins left and special deals to have. Call Darren on 07957 249149.

As always, we look forward to seeing you all on the dancefloor. I will uploads some pictures of the weekend next week!

TTFN I am off down to Weymouth so signing off from my blog duties until Monday
Christine xx

Oh what a night! St Georges Day rocked!

With the Crayford venue adorned with flags, banners and balloons it was set to be a great night with Pete and Jill planning to do a George and Dragon style intermediate routine - and then everyone arrived (most dressed in red and white - and some blue) and with their minds set on having a great night (as you would expect at Crayford) but also making money for The British Heart Foundation!

I am so proud to announce that we raised £121.07 (and a button!). Thank you so much! Well done Crayford for such a great night - particular thanks to DJ Dwain for his two great fundraising ideas especially "Julie does Crayford" which meant that not only did we raise an extra amount of money but also Birthday day Jules got a lot of special dances! Thanks also to Jules for her birthday buffet - much appreciated!

The decorations have now returned to my ever-increasing fancy dress box! So what can we celebrate next??
Christine x

Happy Birthday Julie

Wishing our Jules, Dance Coach at Crayford a fantastic birthday!

Jules will be at Crayford tonight so we will all help her to celebrate her birthday in style. Make sure she has plenty of dances!

Love from all your friends at Dance Riviera

xx

St George's Day – England’s National Day

HAPPY ST GEORGE'S DAY!

If you dont know what to do to celebrate St George's Day - join us at Crayford tonight where we will be celebrating in style and raising money for The British Heart Foundation. Wear red and white (and blue) and join in the fun!

St George is best-known for his fight with a dragon, but its highly unlikely that he ever fought a dragon, and even more unlikely that he ever actually visited England. Despite this, St George is known throughout the world as the dragon-slaying patron saint of England. He is always depicted as a knight carrying a shield with a red cross (or a banner with a red cross), generally sitting upon a horse and always killing a dragon. The Saint's name was shouted as a battle cry by English knights who fought beneath the red-cross banner of St George during the Hundred Years War (1338-1453). By tradition, April 23rd is the day for a red rose (the national flower) in the button hole. However, unlike other countries, England does not celebrate it like Americans celebrate 4 July with fireworks. In fact, you are more likely to see big St Patrick parades in England celebrating Ireland's National Day, more than you would see any sign of St Georges Day being celebrated. But we will be at Crayford tonight – wear red and white (and blue) and celebrate St George’s Day and raise money for The British Heart Foundation.

Who was the real St George and what did he do to become England's patron saint? St George was a brave Roman soldier who protested against the Romans' torture of Christians and died for his beliefs. The popularity of St George in England stems from the time of the early Crusades when it is said that the Normans saw him in a vision and were victorious. His emblem, a red cross on a white background, is the flag of England, and part of the British flag. This emblem was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. The king's soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle. Like England, every country in the UK has its own patron saint who in times of great peril is called upon to help save the country from its enemies.

Did you know? Shakespeare was born on April 23rd, 1564 and he died on the same day in 1616.

Happy Birthday Tracy!

Happy Birthday to Teacher/Demo Tracy.

Make sure Clem and the kids spoil you in a completely Birthday sort of way!

Have a great day
Love from everyone at Dance Riviera xx

Happy Birthday Jim - Birthday Bleatings!

Happy Birthday to Jim (AKA "Mr Smooth"), Dance Riviera Director and Teacher!

Have a fantastic day Jim - make sure Nicky spoils you!!

Love From
The Dance Riviera Team x

St George's Day Celebrations at Crayford next week

Wednesday 23 April is St George's Day and to celebrate this we will be decorating Crayford in red and white (and blue) and we will be collecting for the British Heart Foundation.

At our Halloween event at Crayford last October we raised £83 - thanks so much to everyone for their support that night and for dressing up - that was a fantastic night!

Lets do that again ... on Wednesday lets celebrate England, have a great night and raise money for a fantastic charity.

Wear red and white (and blue) and join in the fun - see you Wednesday night.

Sparkling Spring Ball - 3 days to go!

Only 3 days to go until another of Dance Riviera's great nights - our Sparkling Spring Ball at Herne Bay - with the dress code of denim and diamonds its bound to be a great night!

One of the best parts of Dance Riviera's balls (in my opinion) is the Dance with a Stranger fun jive competition - all you have to do is add your name to my list on Saturday night, guys you will be given a number and ladies you can look at your possible dance partners! Then later on in the evening its competition time and time to pair up - its not a case of grabbing your favourite dancer ... its all done fairly so to make the competition a FUN and enjoyable competition! You never know who you will be dancing with - but they could become one of your favourite dance partners! I will be helping out on the door Saturday night answering any questions you have about this - so if you have never entered this competition before let Saturday be your first time!

Tickets for the Spring Ball are still available before the event for £10 at any of venues or £12 on the door.

It will be money well spent as you will get ...

• Finger buffet
• pot of gold lucky dip (the last winner won £200)
• freestyle dancing from 8pm until 1am to the sounds of Top DJ Steve "Hitman" Strong!
• ... and of course (my favourite) the Dance with a Stranger jive competition!

REMEMBER to get your ticket before the night to guarantee your entry - these nights are usually a sell out!

See you on Saturday night
Christine x

Dance Coach John wins weekend jive competition

Congratulations!
After a 3 night competition, Dance Coach John won the Dance With a Stranger competition at the Holiday Rock Weymouth weekender! A different partner each night, our John smoothly beat the competition and emerged victorious amongst the group.

John, a Dance Riviera dancer through and through, showed his dancing skills and flew the flag for Smooth Jive.

Very proud of you John, well done!
From all of the Dance Riviera crew

Ramsgate closing tonight

We'd like to thank all our Ramsgate dancers for supporting this venue.

We have found that despite advertising, and everything else that we've done to promote this venue, we are reluctantly closing it tonight Wednesday 16th April.

A big thank you to our crew for making the nights so special for everyone.

All those people attending the last night will get a voucher to attend our Thursday night Herne Bay venue and get a FREE night (within 1 month of today).

We've got the atmosphere, the crowd, now let's make Herne Bay the venue to be in East Kent - every Thursday night

APRIL 15 – RMS Titanic sunk but there was music until the end!

At the time of her launching in 1912, RMS Titanic was the largest passenger steamship. During her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank two hours and forty minutes later on April 15, 1912 resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 people.

One of the most famous stories of Titanic is of the band. On 15 April, Titanic's eight-member band, led by Wallace Hartley, had assembled in the first-class lounge in an effort to keep passengers calm and upbeat. Later they moved on to the forward half of the boat deck. The band continued playing music even when it became apparent the ship was going to sink. None of the band members survived the sinking, and there has been much speculation about what their last song was. Some witnesses said the final song played was the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee." Hartley reportedly said to a friend if he was on a sinking ship "Nearer, My God, to Thee" would be one of the songs he would play.

When I in Belfast last year there is talk that since the Titanic was built by Protestants, that the Iceberg was the creation of the Catholics (a true act of God if ever there was an insurance claim)!!

APRIL 14 - St Tiburtius Day – Spring is here (flooding in!)

The arrival of the cuckoo is the signal that spring has come (if it could be heard amongst the heavy rain storms!).

The cuckoo sings from St Tiburtius’ Day (today - Monday) until St John’s Day (24th June) – and as you would expect there is a superstition about this day … If you should hear the cuckoo sing on St Tiburtius’ Day, you should turn over all the money in your pockets, spit and not look at the ground! If you do this and are standing on soft ground when you do it, you will have loads of good luck. However, if you are standing on hard ground, the cuckoo’s call will mean bad luck!

The Highway Code was introduced today back in 1931! When it was first launched in 1931 there were just 2.3 million motor vehicles in Great Britain, yet over 7,000 people were killed in road accidents each year. Some things have not changed over the years: the very first edition of The Highway Code urged all road users to be careful and considerate towards others, putting safety first. However, other aspects of the code have changed considerably. For example, in 1931 mirrors were not even mentioned and drivers were advised to sound their horn when overtaking. Nowadays, advice on how to cross the road fills a whole chapter, but in the early days it only merited a paragraph. On the other hand, more than a third of the original 24-page booklet described the various hand signals the police and road users should use, compared to the single page given to the subject in the current edition. How times change?

Do you want to get off your couch and "run" for charity now?

If you (like me) have just watched the London Marathon and want to do something like that for charity - but not as far ... Lets enter a team for Cancer Research UK's "Race for Life" and “Run for Moore” - and walk, jog or run 5k and raise money for Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work.

There are a good many events running around the South East but having done the one in Blackheath (and run/walked around the heath) in my schooldays I can promise nice soft walking/running ground (and a good few local pubs!) and there is a race for the ladies in the morning and the lads in the afternoon!

WHY DON’T WE ENTER TWO DANCE RIVIERA TEAMS ON SUNDAY 13 JULY AT BLACKHEATH?

When I did my Race for Life I didn’t know what to expect but it was a great day with a great atmosphere - everyone was so friendly and supportive to each other. The emotions that come with the day give you such a feeling of power - feeling you have done something to help others and had such a great time doing it! I am glad that I did it and I can’t wait to do it all over again this year.

Come on ladies lets go pink for a day and lads go red for a day!

• Ladies - Entry costs £12.50 per person. This covers their costs in organising and running the event on the day (e.g. venue, hire, medals and toilets). This means that the sponsorship money we raise will go directly towards their work into the prevention, treatment and cure of all forms of cancer. Enter for the race on http://www.raceforlife.org/
  
• Lads - Entry costs £15 per runner. This helps us cover the cost of staging the event and also includes a Run for Moore T-shirt. They also invite you to make a pledge of your sponsorship target – but any pledge you make is non-binding. The only thing you will be charged once you have finished the form is the entry fee. Enter for the race on http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/runformoore.

Please register yourselves on these websites and then let us know so that we can all keep in touch regarding what is happening on the day – keep reading the blog and email us at info@danceriviera.com.

Doing the events on the same day we can all support each other … rubbing each others aching legs, looking after bags - and getting the drinks in!

Christine x

London Marathan 2008 - Dancers galore ...

Six Maasai warriors from Tanzania will run wearing traditional clothes, shoes made from car tyres and plan to sing along the route. The warriors are raising money to provide safe drinking water for their village, Elaui, in east Africa. Before the Maasai Warriors arrived in London a week ago from Eluai village in Tanzania they had never been out of their country. After years of little rain the search for water in their country has become increasingly desperate. Initially, it was the cattle that died, now it’s the village elders, the sick and the children. “That is why we came to London,” said Isaya, the group’s leader. The aim of Isaya and his five fellow warriors is to raise enough money to provide their village with clean water, which will cost between £20,000 and £60,000, and the courage and dedication of their efforts have earned the respect of the nation. “Where we are now, there is nothing we can compare to home,” said Isaya. “We saw a film of the London Marathon, and that is all we knew before we came here.” They expect to finish in around four hours despite wearing full Maasai dress, including shields and shoes made from rubber tyres. They found it incredible that they could raise funds through running, something they do every day. They said “we will be dancing and singing on the way round,” said Isaya, “so people understand our culture better.”

The London Marathon is a popular road marathon that has been held each year in London since 1981, run over the traditional distance of 42.195 km (26 miles and 385 yards). An unusual feature is the very large amounts of money raised for charity, much more than other marathons. Sometimes in ludicrous fancy dress and often collecting money for charity, these runners make up the bulk of the 30,000+ runners and help to draw crowds of half a million on the streets.
On March 29, 1981, nearly 7,500 athletes participated in the race. The Marathon's popularity has steadily grown since then. Today some 40,000 runners are taking to the streets hoping to cross the finish line at the London Marathon. The 26-mile route runs from Greenwich and Blackheath in south-east London to Buckingham Palace, but was rerouted after a gas leak near Canary Wharf (The gas leak was said to be serious enough to slightly divert the remaining runners by about 200m). Forecasters say the fine weather is perfect for a marathon, with showers likely for people taking longer.

Races to watch out for:

• Buster Martin, aged 101 and father of 17, is hoping to become the oldest person to complete the 26.2 mile (42km) race. He said: "I may not be a millionaire in money, but I'm a millionaire in health."
• Dave Heeley, a blind runner from West Bromwich, is aiming to make London his seventh marathon, as part of the Seven Magnificent Marathons challenge run across seven continents in as many days.
• Rebecca and Mike Tomlinson - The daughter and husband of multiple marathon runner Jane Tomlinson, are running together (Jane died in September after a seven-year battle with cancer during which she performed many feats of endurance and raised millions for charity.)
• Michelle Frost on stilts – raising money for the Reach volunteer charity (for families of children with upper limb deficiencies). She said: "It was a bit of a spur of the moment idea because I could already stilt walk, and I thought why not?
• The celebrity runners include chefs Gordon Ramsay and Michel Roux and Big Brother 2002 winner Kate Lawler who is running for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust wearing underwear designed by Ann Summers. Also running are James Cracknell, Adrian Chiles, Graham Poll, Jonathan Pearce, Phil Daniels and Amanda Holden.
• 25 Met Police officers linked together
• basketballer Jean-Yves Kanyamibwa dribbling a basketball and aiming to raise £1000 for his nominated charity Victa (Visually Impaired Children Taking Action)
• Neal Walker (dressed as Elvis) wants to break the Guinness World Record for running the fastest marathon dressed as Elvis which Ian Sharman set last year at 2:57:44. His aim of raising between £2000 and £3000 for the Alzheimer’s Research Trust in London, and at the New York Marathon this November, should be incentive enough.
• Lloyd Scott, who is wearing a 9ft (2.74m) robot suit and expects to finish on Friday. He’s run London's marathon in a deep sea diving costume, a suit of armour and dressed as Indiana Jones dragging a 300lb boulder. Now Havering’s most famous charity fundraiser Lloyd Scott is preparing to run this year’s race as a 9ft tall iron robot (raising money for the Autism Trust). Lloyd said “It’s not the most comfortable thing to wear- I've recently had my second hip replacement and I probably have as much metal in me as any robot! The Autism Trust charity supports autistic youngsters once they are 19 or over and have left supported education. Lloyd said “often the perception of autistic people is that they have a robotic existence when in fact they are very real people, with huge potential and the ability to flourish with the right help and support."

REMINDER - Smooth Lounge tonight with Paul

Be there and be smooth!
Our Smooth Lounge is open at Rochester tonight - this month features our popular teacher Paul who will teach a Smooth (and no doubt slinky) lesson for you all. Paul will be partnered by a guest DJ, Dirty D (aka Dwain)!

If you've not been before - it's a fantastic experience and atmosphere.

Different genres of music will be played throughout the night to keep the dancers happy and on the floor from 8pm until midnight

£9 on the door (no freebies or loyalty card stamps).

Dance Junction
671 Maidstone Road
Rochester ME1 3QJ
(Jct 3 M2 or Jct 5 M20).

Teacher Keith is at Dartford tonight!

Keith is another of Dance Riviera’s great teachers (mainly teaching at Herne Bay and Ramsgate) so if you havent been to one of his lessons in a while you are in for a treat tonight at Dartford!

Jim & Nicky teaching at Holiday Rock Weekender this weekend!

Denim and Diamonds - your chance to be a Diva (if you want to!)

Only 10 days to go until our fabulous Sparkling Spring Ball on Saturday 19 April at Herne Bay. With a dress code of denim and diamonds - if you are not sure how to dress come as a Diva - guys that can apply to you too!

Get your ticket at any of venues (£10 now or £12 on the door) . So for just £10 you will get ...

• Finger buffet
• Dance with a Stranger fun jive competition
• a pot of gold lucky dip
• freestyle dancing from 8pm until 1am to the sounds of Top DJ Steve "Hitman" Strong!

If you dont fancy driving all the way to Herne Bay - there may be a coach from the London/Kent area to Herne Bay - please leave your name with the welcome host at your venue and they will pass this information onto the people arranging the travel. Numbers for this are limited!

Wear your denims and as many "diamonds" as you can sparkle as you can and sparkle the night away!

REMEMBER - Tickets are on sale at all our venues - get your ticket early to guarantee your entry - these nights are usually a sell out!

Introducing our new Coastal and Medway DJ - Andy

We are pleased to introduce a new DJ for the coastal and medway venues ... DJ Chippy (aka Andy Carpenter) will be spinning the discs for you at Ramsgate this week and Herne Bay.

Andy is a seasoned dancer and with lots of experience as a modern jive DJ, he should be able to please all of you dancers and would-be dancers out there!

We hope you will support Ramsgate (Wednesday) and Herne Bay (Thursday) this week to welcome Andy on board.

REMINDER - Smooth Lounge on Friday

This month's Smooth Lounge sees a guest DJ, Dirty D (aka Dwain!) who will be partnered by our popular teacher Paul.
Paul will teach a Smooth (and no doubt slinky) lesson for you all.

Different genres of music will be played throughout the night to keep the dancers happy, so hopefully you'll get a taste of the Smooth Lounge on Friday if you've not been before - it's a fantastic experience and atmosphere.

8pm - midnight.
£9 on the door (no freebies or loyalty card stamps).
Be there and be smooth!

Dance Junction
671 Maidstone Road
Rochester
ME1 3QJ
(Jct 3 M2 or Jct 5 M20).

April Snow Showers!!!

Heavy snow is falling across the UK as early signs of spring are replaced by winter weather. Overnight snow started falling in the North East, Manchester and north Wales and headed down towards the Midlands in the early hours. Snowfall was later reported in Birmingham and Loughborough and by 6am it was snowing heavily in London. North Wales was experiencing a second wave of snowfall. Forecasters said the snow was settling in places but it is not expected to cause problems on the transport network (lets see if they change their mind tomorrow morning!).

The Met Office has issued a number of flash warnings of severe or extreme weather. It warns there is at least an 80% chance of heavy snow and widespread icy roads across Northern Ireland, north Wales and northwest England as well as a strong possibility of heavy snow in the West Midlands, southwest England and London and the South East.

Temperatures dropped significantly this weekend after an unseasonably warm week that saw the hottest day of the year on Thursday. The wintry weather moved southwards last night, becoming more widespread through England and Wales and bringing temperatures of between 0C and -3C (I know I went out last night!). Today is expected to be another cold and wintry day.

April is known for its changeable weather, and it seems that this year is no exception. Two weeks after a white Easter, the weather became significantly more spring-like last week with temperatures soaring to 18C in a number of places across the UK. Thursday was the warmest day so far this year in Inverbervie, Aberdeenshire, which hit 18.9C.

The Met Office warned last week that this summer is likely to be hotter and wetter than usual. It is predicting a return to the traditional British summer of "three fine days and then a thunderstorm". But forecasters refused to rule out a repeat of last year's torrential rain, which caused widespread flooding. Nor would they rule out an extremely dry summer.

Do you think they are just hedging their bets???

It's Grand National Day

Today will see the 161st running of the John Smith's Grand National at Aintree. Held over three days in April, with the Grand National race itself at 4.15pm on the final day of the meeting, Saturday, the John Smith's Grand National delivers an atmosphere and a unique sense of occasion like no other British sporting event. This is the 161st running of the John Smith's Grand National at Aintree – but did you know the history?

The late 1800's saw the greatest of all horses to run in The Grand National, the duel winner Manifesto. A bay with a white star on his forehead by Man of War (by Ben Battle by Rataplan) out of Vae Victus by King Victory, was a tough well proportioned and powerful horse which was just as well as he Jointly holds the record for the highest weight carried by a wining horse that of 12st 7 lbs. He also holds the record weight for a placed horse of 12st 13 lbs. Manifesto also hold the record for the most number of runs in the race, he ran 8 times in the race.

Soon after the turn of the century it was a horse called Moifaa was the remarkable winner in 1904 when a ship brining him to the race from New Zealand was lost and the horse had to swim ashore, 50 miles it was said, to an island, he was later recovered and when on not only to run in the race but to win the race.

The outbreak of the Great War was not to stop the race and it was held at the racecourse at Gatwick now the site of one of London's busiest Airports. The 1920's saw the introduction of Radio to the race when in 1927 the B.B.C. brought the race to it's biggest ever audience to date when Sprig was to be the victor. The Second World War was to see the only interruption of the race. The race was not run between 1941 and 1945 and the course at this time was used for military purposes. In 1946 as soon as the military were gone the operation was put into place for that year's race and on the 5th of April Lovely Cottage won the 1946 race. The following year 1947 was to see the race run for the first time on a Saturday, at the request of the Prime Minister Clement Attlee, who was said to have suggested the move would be "in the interests of British industry". Caughoo was the winner that day.

1960 was the year when the B.B.C. was to show the race "live" on Television for the first time. Merryman II won that year and the B.B.C. have been doing a great job ever since.
1967 saw the biggest price winner; Foinavon won the race after he was the only horse to jump a very small fence in the race. There was a great pile up at the fence and this horse ridden by John Buckingham when on to score at odds of 100/1. The fence was later named after the horse.

In the 1974 Grand National, Red Rum was now the top weight with 12st to carry but he won again. He was to wait another three years to taste victory again in 1977 when he became the only three times winner of the race. Between his wins he came second twice. First in 1975 to L'escargot and then in 1976 to Rag Trade. 1977 was also another landmark year as it was to see the first ever female jockey in the race, Charlotte Brew may not be a well known name in racing today but back in 1977 she was the person all the commentators wanted to interview as she has the title as being the first Woman to ride in the Grand National.

The 1981 Grand National saw a previously crocked horse making his big race entry named Aldaniti and a jockey who had recently recovered from cancer Bob Champion win the race this caused tears of joy to a whole nation of race lovers. 1983 was another landmark year when the first ever woman trainer won the race when Corbiere put Jenny Pitmans name on the role of honours. In 1992 was another memorable winner. There was to be a general election in the UK and by coincidence this year saw a giant of a horse called Party Politics win.

The following year 1993 was again to be a landmark year as the race had to be declared void after a second false start was not heard by half of the jockeys who went on to complete a full circuit of the track. The horse that finished first that day was Esha Ness now known as the horse that won the National that never was.

The 150th running of the race in 1997 was another bizarre story when a bomb scare meant that the course had to be evacuated and the race postponed until the Monday, to allow the course to be searched. The winner on this famous occasion was Lord Gyllene.

So there you have a brief history of the worlds greatest Steeplechase - albeit I can never watch it since I hate watching horses being forced to jump!! This list for this year – although some may pull out before the race - are (and there are a good few with dance connections):

Hedgehunter / Hi Cloy / Knowhere / Mr. Pointment / Turko
Madison Du Berlais / Simon Iron Man / Fundamentalist
Butler’s Cabin / Slim Pickings / Chelsea Harbour / Vodka Bleu
L’Ami / Snowy Morning Bewleys Berry Contraband
Mckelvey / Joaaci / Point Barrow / Cornish Rebel / D’Argent
No Full / Baily Breeze / Bob Hall / Cloudy Lane / King Johns Castle
Mon Mome / Cornish Sett / Naunton Brook / Tumbling Dice
Backbeat / Comply or Die / Idle Talk / Kelami / Milan / Deux Mille
Nadover / Black Apalachi / Philson Run / Dun Doire / Ardaghe

A quick and easy quiz for a Friday Night ...

Who is Beaker
	The long lost twin brother of Teacher Clem?
	A large glass to drink from?
	The hapless assistant of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew?
	The lead singer of The Sex Pistols?
	The New Bond?
Free polls from Pollhost.com

It would appear that 1% of voters believe Beaker is the new James Bond whereas 2% believe he is Clem's twin brother - have your vote - it will be fun to see what the outcome is!!

UPDATE - 10 April - 75% of you think that Beaker is the long lost twin brother of Teacher Clem! 25% say he is the New Bond! Thats the end of that quiz - we can all see how everyone is thinking!!!

SMOOTH DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES ...

It's that time of the month again for our popular Smooth Lounge freestyle night at Rochester.

FRIDAY 11TH APRIL

There will be a Smooth Jive class to get you in the mood for the evening.

Rochester venue is a new dance facility which has a large sprung maple dance floor (smooth isnt the word), chill out bar (perfection), plenty of parking, air conditioning and a lovely atmosphere - what more could you ask for?

Whatever your dance level, you will thoroughly enjoy some fantastic music, dances and catch up with friends. Bring your dancing friends along for a great and different night.

At Dance Riviera's Smooth Lounge you can enjoy music from Blues, West Coast, RnB, Tango and musicality tracks.

8pm - midnight. £9 on the door (no freebies or loyalty card stamps).

Be there and be smooth!

Dance Junction
671 Maidstone Road

Rochester ME1 3QJ

(Jct 3 M2 or Jct 5 M20).

Sizdah be dar (Outdoor thirteen)

In Persian tradition, sizdah be dar is the custom of leaving the house for public celebrations on the thirteenth (sizdah) day of the month of Farvardin (corresponding to April 2), the last day of the Norouz (Iranian New Year) period. This is the last phase of the New Year's celebrations which begins with the Fire Festival of Chaharshanbe Suri. In modern times people go to parks, have a picnic and throw their sabzeh (green shoots or sprouts) – the seeds they grow near the beginning of Norooz - into a river, symbolizing the cycle of life. Some girls also tie the sprouts of sabzeh on this day, symbolizing their wish for good fortune in life and love. Some people also pull practical jokes and tell white lies on this day, calling it the thirteenth lie (this is very similar to April Fools). People will also release goldfish into a pond or river.

I know - nothing to do with dancing - but you must admit ... its different!!

AIRPLAY FLOODS? APRIL FOOLS DAY!

DONT PANIC! Clem will be keeping his clothes on ... for now!

No ... seriously Paul is teaching at Rochester tonight - fully clothed but just as good!!

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY - no pranks can be played after midday on 1st April otherwise the prank player is the fool!! Not sure how many of you will have logged on before lunchtime but can I just say that Clem was very surprised!!!! Tee hee!

April Fools' Day, sometimes called All Fools' Day, is one of the most light hearted days of the year. Its origins are uncertain. The origins of this custom are complex and a matter of much debate. It is likely a relic of the once common festivities held on the vernal equinox, which began on the 25th of March, old New Year's Day, and ended on the 2nd of April. April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day, though not a holiday in its own right, is a notable day celebrated in many countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, enemies and neighbours, or sending them on fools' errands, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible.

Traditionally, in some countries, the jokes only last until noon. If you play a trick on someone after this time you are the April Fool. Elsewhere, for example in France, the jokes may last all day.

Though the 1st of April appears to have been observed as a general festival in Great Britain in antiquity, it was apparently not until the beginning of the 18th century that the making of April-fools was a common custom. In Scotland the custom was known as "hunting the gowk," i.e. the cuckoo, and April-fools were "April-gowks," the cuckoo being a term of contempt, as it is in many countries.

One of the earliest connections of the day with fools is Chaucer's story the Nun's Priest's Tale (c.1400), which concerns two fools and takes place "thritty dayes and two" from the beginning of March, which is April 1. The significance of this is difficult to determine.

Europe may have derived its April-fooling from the French. French and Dutch references from 1508 and 1539 respectively describe April Fools' Day jokes and the custom of making them on the first of April. France was one of the first nations to make January 1 officially New Year's Day (which was already celebrated by many), by decree of Charles IX. This was in 1564, even before the 1582 adoption of the Gregorian calendar. Thus the New Year's gifts and visits of felicitation which had been the feature of the 1st of April became associated with the first day of January, and those who disliked or did not hear about the change were fair game for those wits who amused themselves by sending mock presents and paying calls of pretended ceremony on the 1st of April. In France the person fooled is known as poisson d'avril (April fish). This has been explained as arising from the fact that in April the sun quits the zodiacal sign of the fish. The French traditionally celebrated this holiday by placing dead fish on the backs of friends. Today, real fish have been replaced with sticky, fish-shaped paper cut-outs that children try to sneak onto the back of their friends' shirts. Candy shops and bakeries also offer fish-shaped sweets for the holiday.

Something to note is that 9 months from the 1st of April a child was born of immaculate conception which could be the source of the fools day.

For me personally I am off to see my sister soon to join in her birthday celebrations - no one believed my Dad when he said today all those years ago that he had another baby girl (actually thinking about it ... maybe it was the way he worded it - perhaps he should have said my Mum had had another baby girl!)!!

ROCHESTER TONIGHT!

Tonight at Rochester to celebrate the start of summer Teacher Clem will be performing a floor display of a striptease routine in aid of his favourite charity "Airplay Floods" - please go along to Rochester tonight to support Clem with his brave venture.