West Coast

Holidays In Orkney, West Mainland

Orkney is an archipelago off the North Coast of Mainland Scotland. Most of the islands are low lying and all are almost treeless, sitting in some of the most ferocious seas in the World. Yet Orkney is a haven for those wanting a place to relax in peace and quiet and especially for those wanting to enjoy bird watching, diving and archaeology.

Mainland is the confusingly named main island of the group. This is the location of Orkney's two main towns, Kirkwall and Stromness. It is divided into two halves called East Mainland and West Mainland with Kirkwall at the mid point between the two and Stromness at the South Western corner of West Mainland. Historically, Stromness has seen periods of boom with long slumps between them. Initially selected as a Hudsons Bay Company base (when the company set up here in 1670 there were only 13 houses) a stopping off point for sea traffic driven away from the Channel by European wars and a centre for whaling . Herring fishing was a major source of income for and work in the town until the early 20th century. Peace, steam propulsion and the collapse of Northern whale and herring stocks all took trade and income away from Stromness. The town regained importance in both world wars and in World war two Stromness Hotel was the headquarters of the Orkney and Shetland defences. Ness Battery, South of Stromness contains relics of Victorian, World War 1 and World War 2 coast defences and is the only World War 2 coast battery in the United Kingdom retaining a substantial portion of its original accommodation which is being preserved for future generations.

Stromness today is home to the ferry terminal for Northlink's operation to and from Thurso. Some fishing and seafood processing still takes place and the European Marine Energy Centre is based there, with growing test facilities offshore. Indeed the whole West coast of Orkney is planned to become a marine energy farm in the coming decades. Orkney is very popular as a recreational diving destination with many dive boats and several dive shops. One, Scapa SCUBA, operates a PADI training centre and offers regular try-dives for tourists at the Churchill Barriers between the North and South Isles. Only basic swimming ability and sound health is necessary to sample some of the clearest, cleanest waters in Europe with fantastic marine life. For qualified divers, the WW1 High Seas Fleet awaits with massive capital ships to dive. Other activities include golf, sailing and swimming.

Unlike Kirkwall, Stromness has retained much of its 19th century charm. It has a terrific new arts centre and a large and very atmospheric museum with excellent natural and social history collections. There are many items relating to the Hudson's Bay Company and Whaling operations and to the renowned Orcadian explorer, John Rae. Stromness has some notable hotels and restaurants and no one staying in Stromness should miss out on Julia's bistro, right opposite the ferry terminal. From Stromness you look across to Hoy with its massive hills and some of the tallest cliffs in the UK. Stromness is surrounded by pasture, links and some beautiful beaches. Stromness makes an ideal base from which to explore West Mainland or the whole of Orkney. One option is to stay at excellent Orkney self catering, with wonderful views over the town and Scapa Flow.

What is the difference between east coast and west coast swing dancing?

What is the difference between east coast and west coast swing dancing? How are the steps different? Do they both do the same spins and flips and tricks and stuff?

There's actually many types of swing dances. More than just East Coast and West Coast.

East Coast Swing is a standard ballroom dance that was developed in the 1940s as the popularity of swing/big band music and swing folk dances like the Lindy Hop reached their peak in popularity. It has a six count basic.

Here's and example of Ballroom East Coast Swing:

Lindy Hop is the original swing dance, created in Harlem in the late 20s, and was most well known at the Savoy Ballroom through out the 30s. Today, outside of the competitive ballroom scene, East Coast Swing is generally taught as a beginning dance or stepping stone to learning Lindy Hop, as the dance is really simple to learn for a beginner compared to Lindy Hop, which is a bit more complex. (Historic dancers to look up, Shorty George Snowden and Frankie Manning). It has an 8 count basic.

Here's and example of fast tempo Lindy Hop:

Here's an example of medium tempo Lindy Hop:

West Coast Swing developed in the 50s and 60s in California as swing music changed from big band to rock, blues, soul, etc. The dance is actually a smooth form of Lindy Hop (having the same footwork), but has a different styling due to the type of music being danced to at the time. The Lindy Hop "swing out" is actually identical to the West Coast "whip". (Historic dancers to look up, Dean Collins and Jack Carey)

Here's an example of modern West Coast Swing:

Other popular swing dances would include:

Balboa:

Collegiate Shag:

Charleston (as a solo dance):

Charleston (as a partner dance):

Carolina Shag:

Wikipedia actually has a terrific history of swing dancing in general:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_dance

If you are wondering which one you should learn . . . you can learn all of them if you want. It's really up to you, but I recommend you pick one where you love the music. Dancing comes from music, so if you don't like what kind of music goes with a certain dance, then you won't enjoy learning that dance.

I hope that helps!

Coconut Records "West Coast"