Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Digital story

Anyone who has a digital TV and who fancies a laugh might like to watch 'Your stories' on BBCi tomorrow, Wednesday 30th. (You need to press the red button while watching a BBC channel).

Look out for a two-minute film called 'How I got my groove back': it's one of four that will be shown on a continuous loop through the day. You'll see why the video camera was in O'Neills a few months back.

Don't worry, the only dancers apart from me who can be recognised are Anne and Charlotte, and they both agreed to appear.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

K8

Kate James is off to the States for three months, so this Thursday I imagine she'll be danced off her feet. Hope you have a good time, Kate - look forward to learning any new rueda moves you pick up...

Back on track

Finally back on track, I hope: work has really got in the way of dancing recently. I went to O'Neills last night after only managing to get to salsa twice in the previous month. (I usually reckon I miss it if I go less than twice a week). Women a bit thin on the ground (several people I'd expect to dance with were away) but an hour or so's relaxed dancing has made me feel a lot better.

I never used to take salsa seriously as exercise, but I've noticed a drop in fitness. I recently did a little sum for those of you who are trying to justify your addiction: most salsa is around 45-55 bars per minute. 3 steps to a bar means an average of 150 steps a minute. So 67 minutes of salsa gets you the ten thousand steps needed to maintain basic fitness.

"I'm so glad you told me that, I hate aerobics!" (dancer in the Toad a few weeks ago).

Friday, March 11, 2005

Toad reprieved : ))

The Toad is back in business until May at least, as they didn't get a licence to refurbish it. Gives Andy and Kate some time to find an alternative.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Claverton (Bed)Rooms

Visited Salsajive the other day to check the dates of the next Claverton Rooms salsa nights (26 March and 16 April) and I noticed that you can now get on-site accommodation through the university (beds@bath.ac.uk). It costs £30.50 plus VAT a night. A lot more attractive than driving back to Cardiff in a daze and getting to bed at half past three. It even makes it possible to avoid using the car altogether - take a train over, spend an afternoon in Bath and then head back at a civilised time in the morning.

Monday, March 07, 2005

No more Toad : (((((

This Thursday (10th) is the last night at the Toad (and I'm going to miss it because I'll be on the road between London and West Wales). It's a real disaster as it's been the best salsa night in Cardiff for a long time. I can imagine finding another venue won't be that easy - three classes running simultaneously needs a lot of space, and the Toad was barely big enough.

Not sure what we're going to do for an alternative in the meantime. I think La Tasca is going to get busier, and I imagine a few of us will be going to Bristol on Wednesdays (clashes with my Spanish class, unfortunately). At least I'll get a bit more work done on Fridays...

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Autres langues/Otras idiomas/Ieithoedd eraill

J'ai vu (des 'statistiques') que quelqu'un de France a visité cherchant renseignements sur 'salsa a cardiff'. Si vous voulez poser des questions (en Français, en Español ou en Gallois (!)) appuyez sur 'Comments' - j'essaierai a traduire y repondre a votres questions.

Si quiere preguntar algo en Español, usa 'Comments' - yo intentera a contestar en Español.

I noticed from the stats that someone from France has visited a couple of times looking for information about 'salsa a Cardiff'. If you want to ask questions in French, Spanish (or Welsh!) click on 'Comments' and I'll try and reply (you're unlikely to get a response that's grammatically correct, as you've probably worked out from the first two paragraphs). I've also got a friend who's fluent in German, so I'll forward any questions in German to her.

Friday, March 04, 2005

Got my fix

God, I needed that last night! I usually reckon twice a week is a minimum, and the combination of work and a virus meant I'd missed it for a fortnight. I wasn't really dancing at my best but had some dances with some nice people. Danced with Harriet early on, who's far too good for most of us, and it was great to see Charlotte back in action (and surprisingly unrusty for someone who hasn't danced for six weeks).

***** told me with a very straight face in mid-dance "I'm a bit worried about dancing with you.". When I asked why she said "I've just discovered your website". She was joking (the bit about being worried) or at least she said she was...