"Come, Darcy,'' said he, "I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.''

"I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this, it would be insupportable. "
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Chapter 3

Just back from the Fforde Ffestival in sunny Swindon. The event was held at the Goddard Arms and, after a few hours in the 'ballroom', I looked up to realise that two-thirds the length of the room was, in fact, an old assembly room similar to the type of hall used in P&P. Given how sweltering it was with the electric fans, I dread to imagine the sweatiness trying to dance in it in the C19^th.

After the Richard III (abridged) play and the auction, the chairs were cleared at one end and the dancing started. Possibly it was the rum with which my drinks were laced* but it seemed suddenly amusing that two hundred years after a hypothetical Darcy would have been glowering at the quadrille dancers, the habitual moves of the Love Shack by the B-52s were being stamped out as the confirmed non-dancers watched in horror.

Right now, having had under 2 hours sleep and with autumn suddenly falling, I am planning to switch on the heating and run a hot bath before doing my emails. I have, the Toast Marketing Board will be delighted to know, had two slices since I got home.


*prompting the inevitable "but why's the rum gone?" comment this morning.

Labels: you dancing?