Jazzed

I listened to a few bands during the day but the highlight was the dance at Bishops Gate Hotel. It was a bit formal, with people sitting at round tables. Not a great environment for people to ask each other to dance and not many people did dance. I had two long conversations with Amanda’s brother and his wife. Philip started talking about the Troubles and post-conflict reconciliation. Karen talked about how sexual violence is endemic in Derry and how she wants to build capacity around changing that. I just wanted to dance to swing dance music.

There was one couple there who were really good dancers. Amanda chatted with them and found out they were instructors. Which made me feel comfortable asking the fella to dance and we did--to the last two songs of the night. It was fantastic. When you are with a good lead, you have the illusion of being a good swing dancer yourself.
Here’s a photo of the peace bridge with the Guildhall in the background.

And this photo is from the other side of the river looking at Ebrington Barracks, once a British Army base.

4-30