Everybody loves a Ceilidh

Well Hi there! It has been a while. I thought I should post a wee update of how the Ceilidh went last Saturday. The day was rather stressful getting everything organised but it seemed to go pretty well! About 200 people showed up and we made over £3,500 for the Teenage Cancer Trust so I was VERY happy with that. This money is going towards the new centre being built in Edinburgh. Everybody that came was on such good form and the dancing was a hoot. Thanks so much everybody for coming and for going for it on the dancefloor! Here are some snaps to show how well it went..

Being shown how to work the sound..

This was near the end - I think they were rather tired!

Clearly, Dad and Uncle James were having a blast. 

I have SO many people to thank for helping me put this together. Firstly, both of the bands. The Ceilidh band came all the way from Inverness and they were amazing. Four very talented young musicians who were so keen to help and helped the evening go so well! The other music for the night was provided by my chum Andy's band, Hidden Agenda (http://www.hiddenagenda.info/). I think everyone can agree that they were awesome - most folk had a dance at some point (particularly Jamie and Gordon..)! Next, we have 'Scrumptious' who made the wonderful cupcakes that you can see. Thank you SO MUCH girls for doing that, the cupcakes were amazing! We had a HUGE raffle (which was a bit stressful at the time, but oh well!) and I was so happy so many wonderful companies contributed towards this. There is a list of the raffle prizes on the website (maireadsceilidh.co.uk). Lastly, I have so many of my friends who I want to thank... Bex, Will, Frances, Louise - you guys were so helpful with getting things for me and bringing things that I forgot (ie a moneybox, table cloths, tealights, a top hat etc..). Alice, for driving the band to and from Inverness - you must have been knackered so thanks! Lynsey (and your Dad for piping!), thanks for coming early to help set up and for taking wonderful pictures. It's so lovely to have made a great friend through this TCT stuff. Stef and Tom, you guys have been great. After a totally crap year you both were so keen and supportive throughout it all. Ally, thanks for doing the 'guy' stuff which all of us girls were pretty useless at! Jamie, for designing the website and doing all the 'techy' things! My (very large) family for doing whatever I asked of them! Mum, Teenie and Claire for being around all day and pitching in wherever they needed to be, Dad, Uncle James and Auntie Winnie for being 'on the money', Rona for being a 'raffler' and the rest for being so incredibly supportive. Last, and by no means least, is my right hand woman Ruth. She has gone above and beyond the call of a best friend (not just on Saturday) and I would be totally lost without her. The wee presentation she sorted for me at the Ceilidh just proves how thoughtful and kind she is. Saturday wouldn't have been possible without everything she did to help so, thank you Ruthie. 

I have definitely missed people/roles/things/no idea what else out but I really hope everyone knows how grateful I am for the support and help that they gave whilst I was organising the Ceilidh. It was so great to see so many familiar faces and it was amazing how much was raised. 

I've been rather busy these past few weeks but shall leave it here for now. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.