Fancy
dress dance in the Skye gathering hall - Sent By Simon Hood
It
was the Loch Nevis...
Do not Know the name of the band but it was probably local. We hired
costumes from shop in Aberdeen 10 shillings each. The second steward did
not like his costume so I swapped him for mine. So he was a Siamese prince
and I was supposed to be a Chinese mandarin but more like a coolie but it
did not bother me anything for a laugh. The stewardess was dressed as a Siamese
princess Another steward decided he was not going to the fancy dress ball
because the costume he ordered, an Arab sheik was just a fez and what looked like an old woman's
flannel night gown. However we plied him with whisky and he changed his
mind. Dan Kennedy was dressed as Venetian lady. he wore a long blonde wig
a white blouse a velvet ladies waistcoat So we all set off that evening
walking from the pier on a summers evening to the Skye gathering hall
looking like travelling opera company. there was a dance before the
selection of the best dressed at the ball. I had a few dances with the Venetian
lady to give the impression it was a lady who by the way also wore a
billowing dress. When the time arrived to choose the best dressed
contestants we all marched around the hall and I escorted the Venetian.
Each time we passed the judges Dan gave them a beautiful smile. The Siamese
prince and princess won the prize for the best dressed couple, it could
have been me, and the Venetian lady won the prize for best dressed lady. A
woman came round asking the winners their names. I was sitting next to Dan
and he said in a high pitched voice D Kennedy. When the local paper came
out it said the best dressed lady was Miss D Kennedy. We heard that did
not go down well with the local girls. It was also said that there was a
good turnout from the Loch Nevis. We all had a good night as we strolled
back to the boat having made some sort of record. The only names I can
remember were stewards Dan Kennedy ,his father was a minister and Archie
Lappin who came from Rothesay the second steward was from Tiree. The chief
stewards name was Dan MacLennan he came from Oban though he lived in
Portree probably because the Loch Nevis was based there And later on he
was chief steward on the Loch Seaforth. The purser dressed as a minister.
I think his name was Truesdale and I think he was from Clarkston, it didn't
go down to well with the locals.
"Story from a letter sent to Simon Hood, from his Father Ian, July 2003"
SoC
HOME 
STORIES
