Thistle Welcome

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THISTLE WELCOME (R8x32) 3C (4C set) Margaret Rowe Rose and Thistle

1- 8 1s lead down crossing below 3s and cast up to 2nd place, dance up between 2s and cast back to 2nd place
9-16 1s turn 3s on sides (LH Ladies' side and RH Men's side), 1s turn 2s on sides (RH Ladies' side and LH Men's side)
17-24 1s dance RH across Man with 2s and Lady with 3s, 1s dance ½ Figs of 8 giving RSh to 4th corner
25-32 2s+1s+3s set, dance DoSiDo with partner and set

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Thistle Welcome - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

The spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) is a flowering plant native to Scotland and other parts of Europe.

It belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae, and has deeply lobed, spiny leaves, prickly stems and purple flower heads. The plant is usually biennial, producing a rosette of leaves in its first year and flowering in its second. It commonly grows on grassland, roadsides, field margins and disturbed ground.

The spear thistle typically flowers from July to September, providing nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects. Its flower heads subsequently develop numerous small fruits bearing feathery hairs, which assist their dispersal by wind. Goldfinches and other seed-eating birds feed on the ripening fruits.

The spear thistle is one of several species represented in Scottish heraldry and is considered a possible original model for Scotland's national emblem. The thistle has appeared in Scottish royal imagery since the fifteenth century and remains a feature of Scottish military badges, coins and heraldic designs.

Flower of the spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare), also known as the common thistle

Spear Thistle (Cirsium Vulgare), A Native Scottish Thistle

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Text from this original Thistle article on Wikipedia.
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