The Ceilidh venue

A cold wintry Scottish eve prevailed but still the men braved the weather with kilts on show in impressive numbers. Close to 250 people attended the evening and Stirling County Rugby Club once again proved an ideal venue. 

This year’s ceilidh was run in conjunction with Stirling University IDEALS group and the evening’s success was largely due to the students’ concerted efforts and organisation.  The evening exceeded expectations with impressive decoration, the entertaining band and of course the unexpected delight of frog racing!

The joint Scottish-Zambian theme ran throughout the event with the tables having draped saltire flags with a centrepiece of Zambian coloured balloons (red, green & gold). A big thank you to the Commonwealth Games Council of Scotland for their contribution to the evening, as 22 saltires are not easy to find at short notice. Each table had samples of shortbread and tablet kindly donated by Pamela Stewart.

By 8.30pm the ceilidh was underway, the dance floor was filled as the band kept the music flowing whilst in the lounge area the frog representatives prepared for the evening of racing ahead. On the dance floor partners perfected the ‘Gay Gordons’, ‘Canadian Barn Dance’ and ‘Strip the Willow’.

Dani Stewart aka 'Frog Queen’ took the microphone as she explained the rules and regulations to frog racing as six preliminary rounds got underway. A thank you to the sponsors of the races:



Then it was time to resume the ceilidh for the last hour of dancing! At 12.30, the band called time and so did the bar unfortunately.  Then Lyson our resident Zambian-Scot, dressed from head to toe in Scotland attire including kilt and football jersey, took the crowd by storm as he brought some Zambian favourites to life. Soon a circle of IDEALS students from Northumbria, Durham, Bath, UWIC and Stirling chanted familiar songs of conkomedseo and ahjoogoojar. Quickly followed up by a rendition of Happy Birthday for Rob who chose to celebrate his special day with his friends in Stirling.   The circle grew in size as the IDEALS students of 2008 joined in and began their first lesson in nyanja.

As the crowd began to disperse, and a string of after parties kicked off, the Stirling IDEALS team and Friend of EduSport congratulated themselves on an excellent event and began preparing for next year! Our final total was close to £2500, from which Friend of EduSport will send £750 to their projects in Zambia to bring a new and exciting start to 2008.

Honorary Scot Lyson

The frog racing turned the main dance floor into a frenzy as it took centre stage for the final and auction race. There was a clear winner who seemed to perfect the technique quicker than her competitors….and yes there is a technique to frog racing!!

Kristen & Lyson jig

As the guests entered they were encouraged to peruse the photo displays picked from the students favourites, which depicted their experiences of Zambia whilst simultaneously getting drinks from the bar.  Needless to say cute children featured in numerous pictures! As the band and crowd assembled a DVD produced by Rob Day was shown to give those without first hand Zambian experience a flavour of Lusaka and the projects. As the hall filled speeches got underway.  Peter Warburton, friend of Friend of EduSport and Director of Sport at Durham University, was presented a special gift on behalf of his contribution to the organisations in Zambia and for initiating the Wallace Groups involvement with UK Sport IDEALS project. There was a thank you read out from Zambia that produced a lump in a few throats, including my own.

Stirling IDEALS 2007 – Rona, Micheal, Kerry, Lara, Kristen, Dani. Great work team!

Frog racing

There are many thank you’s to say, individuals who made the event happen and made it a truly special occasion:

Of course a special thank you to Jude for co-ordinating the efforts and bringing the different aspects of event organisation to fruition.

A mention must go to Gillian, the star of ahjoogoojar and who continues to make a considerable contribution to the IDEALS project. Truly appreciated!

Sterling IDEALS Group

All the IDEALS students and staff who travelled to the event. It was fantastic to have everyone there and a very special end to the evening with Lyson bringing back many memories for us all I’m sure. It’s over over!

Stirling County thanks for the venue, see you again next year.

Uncle Billy’s friend's band- thanks you for your patience with frog racing running over and allowing us a few extra dances.

Pamela Stewart for the tablet, it was well received and a pleasant taste sensation for those from south of the border who were unaccustomed to this Scottish treat.

The frog men! What an event, your running commentary and book keeping skills were excellent and made many a person’s night as you paid out their winnings.