Farewell To Hugh
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
FAREWELL TO HUGH (R8x32) 3C (4C set) Ruary Laidlaw, 20201- 8 1s cross RH, cast (2s step up); 1s turn 1½ LH to own side facing out/up
9-16 2s+1s+3s dance mirror reels of 3 on sides giving hands (2s in/down, 1s out/up to start). All end in centre nearer hands joined with partner facing up
17-24 All advance (2 steps) and retire diagonally back down and out to own side; all turn partners RH to end Men facing up, Ladies facing down
25-32 All chase clockwise (3 steps), pull back RSh to turn all round and continue chase clockwise. 213
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Farewell To Hugh An 8 x 32 bar Reel, for 3 couples in a 4 couple longwise set.
1 - 8 The first couple cross over with the right hand and cast off to second place on the opposite side. The second couple move up on bars 3 and 4. The first couple then turn one and a half times with left hand for four bars to finish on their own sides facing out and up.
9 - 16 The first three couples then dance symmetrical reels of three on their own sides.
To begin:
Second couple dance in and down,
First couple dance out and up
Third couple dance in slowly
Each couple should touch inside hands as they come towards each other in the reel.
All three couples finish the reel in the middle of the dance with inside hands joined facing up.
ART - Advance, Retire, Turn
17 - 24 All three couples advance for two steps towards the top of the set and then retire with two steps to the side, and then turn their partner by the right hand for four steps to finish:
All three men facing up and all three ladies facing down
Chase With a Twist
25 - 32 The first three couples then dance a Chase round for three steps -
On bars 4 and 5 they dance a Twist: dance in and all the way round on the spot pulling their right shoulder back to face the way they were going. On bars 6 to 8 they complete the Chase to finish with the dancing couple in second place ready to start again from second place.
If preferred, dancers can omit the Twist and just dance the Chase for eight bars, but being careful to accommodate the dancers doing the Twist.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw, 21st February 2020)
Dance Instruction Videos
Farewell To Hugh - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
This reel, Farewell To Hugh, is dedicated to Hugh Thompson, my oldest friend in New Zealand.We first met way back in the late 1950s when my mother, Margaret Laidlaw, met Hugh's mum and dad at the NZ Society (as the NZ Branch was then) Summer School at Day's Bay in Wellington in 1956. Hugh's mother, Flora Thomson was the founder and teacher at the Cambridge SCD club. Mum, my brother and I would occasionally go down to Leamington to stay for part of the school holidays. Hugh's dad, Dr. Jack Thomson, had his medical practice beside the house.
Hugh and I stayed in touch with each other over all the years until his sudden death at the end of 2019. Hugh and his wife Carol had come up to visit his sister Jean in Otorohanga and had dinner at our place just the Wednesday before! He was as large as life with no signs of departing! His death came as a great sad shock to us all, especially his wife Carol.
Recommended music: The Capital Jig, played by Keith Smith and James Gray.
(Dance information by the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw)

Hugh Thompson
Here is the original crib for Farewell To Hugh by Ruary Laidlaw, also available as a .pdf Farewell To Hugh (Portable Document Format).
Image copyright Hugh Thompson, Ruary Laidlaw, all rights reserved, 2020.
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