Fancy Dress Gathering on Skye (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"