December 31, 2003
New Year with Cotton Eye Joe
Solihull, UK
Getting our acts together to make plans for New Year's Eve was quite difficult this year. It is one of those holidays that has started to lose it's luster now that we are over 21. (I am sure it won't be long before we'll be celebrating the new year by having a meal out and being asleep by 10:30pm!)
Anyhow, Mark and Andrew tried to plan a new year's get away while we were still back in Holland. (A weekend trip to "Eden-burg" had been extensively discussed but nothing actually got booked. Prices were too expensive and the coordination was difficult as we were planning our departure for this trip.) So, nothing was finalized and we found ourselved post-boxing day with no set plans... In the end we decided to head to the Rugby Club with Chris and Sarah!
Mark and I were counting and we realized that of the 6 New Years we have spent together... three of them have been in the UK. (Not bad considering our relitively complex geography!!) While the last 2 in the UK were great, I would have to say that this one was my favorite!
Although I don't know all that many people at the club (but I am starting to recognize quite a few faces!!) it has a wonderful family feeling that you can`t find at a smoky local. (pub) People around you are more willing to have a chat and seem genuinely interested in who you are and what you've been up to. It's a nice social atmosphere not found all that often anymore.
In Britain, as far as I can tell, the New Year tradition is to close the bar 5 minutes before midnight so the bar staff can see in the new year with the crowd. The count down is often done (with or without the TV commentator) and after the new year has arrived everyone joins hands and sings a rendition of Auld Lang Syne (especially loud if you are with a bunch of Rugby boys!)
After the sing song, there are kisses and handshakes all around with heartfelt wishes for the new year. Then the dancing really heats up. The DJ put on a knee slapping rendition of Cotton Eye Joe and the Cassidy brothers entertained the crowd with their arm swinging, high jumping, elbow waving dancing. It was good for a few laughs before we made our way back home to bed.
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This page was originally posted: 1/10/2004; 2:27:16 PM.
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