The Sunday Class
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Taught/practised on: 2014 September 7 th September 28 th
MONICA’S WAY  (J4x32) 3s&4s on opposite sides Gail Sibley  RSCDS Book 48   1- 2 1s+4s cross RH whilst 2s+3s set    3- 8 1s+2s, 3s+4s dance ¾ double fig. of 8, 1s & 4s cast to start whilst 2s & 3s cross down/up  2 1(4)(3)    9-16 1s+4s Set&Rotate, finish 4M+1L (in tandem) facing down on Ladies’ side, 1L+4M facing up on Men’s side   17-20 2L, 4L+1M, 1L+4M, & 3M dance ½ alternating tandem reel of 4 on 2 nd  corner diagonal  21-24 2M, 1M+4L, 4M+1L, & 3L dance ½ alternating tandem reel of 4 on 1 st  corner diagonal, finishing with 1L+4M in centre facing up, 1M+4L facing down    25-28 1s+4s, passing partner RSh dance out through sidelines & curve into place 3 1(4)(2)    29-32 3s+1s+4s+2s Advance&Retire
This dance was devised for Monica Roots on her retirement on 23 April 2007 after six years of teaching members of the Salt Spring Island Scottish Country Dance Club, British Columbia. Saltspring Island (also known as Salt Spring Island) is the largest, most populous, and most frequently visited of the Southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled in 1858 by ex-slaves from Missouri who travelled to California, and then north to British Columbia at the invitation of Governor James Douglas, himself a Guyanese man of multiethnic birth.   The island became a refuge from racism for African Americans and was not only the first of the Gulf Islands to be settled, but also the first agricultural settlement established anywhere in the Colony of Vancouver Island not owned by the Hudson's Bay Company or its subsidiary the Pugets Sound Agricultural Company. Settlers were allowed to acquire land through pre-emption (settlers could occupy and improve the land before purchase, being permitted to buy it at a cost per acre of one dollar after proving they had done so.) Before 1881 virtually all property acquired on Salt Spring Island was purchased in this way; as a result, the history of early settlers on Saltspring Island is unusually detailed. Demographically, early settlers included not only African Americans, but also (largely) English and European, as well as Irish, Scottish, aboriginal and Hawaiian. The method of land purchase helped to ensure that the land was used for agricultural purposes and that the settlers were mainly families. The island was known as "Chuan" or "Chouan" Island in 1854, but it was also called "Saltspring" as early as 1855, in honour of the island's salt springs. In 1859, it was officially named "Admiralty Island" in honour of Rear-Admiral Robert Lambert Baynes by surveyor Captain Richards, who named various points of the island in honour of the Rear-Admiral and his flagship, HMS Ganges. (The largest village on the island is Ganges.) The island was officially retitled Saltspring on March 1, 1910. According to the Integrated Land Management Bureau of British Columbia, locals incline equally to Saltspring and Salt Spring for current use. The official chamber of commerce website for the island, which gives a date of 1906 for the renaming, adopts the two word title, stating that the Geographic Board of Canada, in choosing the one word name, "cared nothing for local opinion or Island tradition." The island is known for its artists and, interestingly, has its own currency, the Salt Spring dollar, which is issued by the Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation to promote local history, art and goodwill on Salt Spring Island. The Sustainable Salt Spring Island Coalition examined the possible establishment of a local currency in the fall of 2000, with the first issuance of the currency taking place a year later. In 2006, the Spring Island Monetary Foundation began planning their first silver coin edition, with the first coins issued in December 2007. Salt Spring Dollar is exchanged at par with the Canadian dollar, and used at most businesses throughout the island. They were given the distinct symbol $$, to denote Salt Spring Island Issued. The Salt Spring Island Monetary Foundation backs the currency with Canadian dollars. Bills are issued in $$1, $$2, $$5, $$10, $$20, $$50, and $$100 denominations. Each bears the image of a distinct figure from Salt Spring history, such as Henry Wright Bullock ($$1 bill), Matilda Naukana Harris ($$2 bill), or Sylvia Stark ($$5 bill). Along with the figure is a quote by Albert Einstein: "How I wish that somewhere there existed an Island for those who are wise and of good will! In such a place even I would be an ardent patriot." In the centre is a landscape shot of select locations on the island and the reverse feature paintings from local artists including Robert Bateman.
Fulford Harbour, Saltspring Island, from Musgrave Road.  Photography by Bruno Gonzalez Panorama