Gypsy Jazz

This evening I went with my friend Eddis to a banquet put on by the refugee association. Women from the Congo, Syria, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and elsewhere cooked the most amazing feast. It was wonderful to see these women relaxing with their families. Many of them either get a meagre stipend from the government or none at all if their asylum claim has been denied. Life in Belfast isn’t easy for them, but they have each other. There were probably 300 people at the hall.

Afterward I went to hear the Hot Strings Quartet, which plays Django Reinhardt type music. There were probably 12-15 Swing Belfast people there. I had one very good dance with Gary and one not-so-good dance with Marty. Marty does lots of different dances (blues, Charleston) while I do basic swing--I don’t have that many tricks.

It was a really fun night out. I am very grateful for having a band of people to get out with--it’s great to get out for some live music and to do so with my swing dance buddies.
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