The Ceilidh was originally a social gathering of any sort, and it did not necessarily involve dancing. The world 'ceilidh' is literary entertainment where stories and tales, poems and ballads are rehearsed and recited with songs being sung, conundrums are put, proverbs are quoted and many other literary matters are related and discussed.
I was invited to go along to witness one of these very 'ceilidhs' which was being held in a local bowling green social club pavilion which was built in 1900. When I was invited, I thought this was going to be a dance, but as I walked in, I realised it was not. I was transported back to the social club's my parents used to take me to as a child which I had forgotten until that moment.
As a small child, I remember going with my parents to war veterans clubs wishing they would be more exciting and modern and feeling so completely and utterly out of place. I couldn't understand how content my parents and the other adults were just belonging to a club that in a loose way had some historic or social relevance to them. To me they just looked like a waiting room.
However, as the music started to play, I was quite moved. I was touched and charmed at how the playing of these instruments bonded each of the individuals in chorus, the young and old together in a way that the bowling green, the bar and the snooker table in the corner could not had the music not been playing. This live music being played took on a life of its own like an impromptu discussion and without any limitations and these discussions were vibrant. I now understood why these social clubs existed, and I was glad to have been there.
