Ruby McBeth: Happy St. Patrick's Day

Irish dancing became a worldwide cultural phenomenon when Michael Flatley starred in the show Riverdance and later created his own show Lord of the Dance, followed by Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger.

Local Irish dancers trained at the Watt School of Irish Dance toured with Flatley’s show. Amanda (O’Toole) Hanson, Carmen (Timmins) Belfrage, Ciara Watt, and Aisling Watt performed with Lord of the Dance in the late 1990s through early 2000s touring across North America and abroad. Highlights of touring with Lord of the Dance included: performing alongside Michael Flatley in Feet of Flames at Hyde Park, London; dancing on stage at well-known venues, such as Radio City Music Hall and the Grand Ole Opry; and performing in western Canadian cities where family and friends of these dancers travelled to watch the performances.

Amanda O’Toole Hanson is a granddaughter of Lois McBeth, my sister-in-law. Amanda tells me that the Watt School of Irish Dance in Vancouver is run by Aisling Watt. Amanda toured with Lord of the Dance from 1998 until 2004 when she left to pursue her studies in biology at Carleton University in Ottawa. And yes, Amanda’s parents Rhonda and Paul O’Toole did travel to London to watch Feet of Flames, where Amanda performed alongside Michael Flatley.

When I had trouble printing some drum music, my daughter Joyce used Adobe Acrobat to get the print job on the road. The music was only printing about a quarter of the page on the left side. Once I opened the file in Adobe Acrobat instead of the Edge browser, the whole page printed with no problem. I don’t need to understand why this worked, but I am glad that it did!

At our March Baldonnel WI meeting, Norma Currie gave a talk about meal replacement drinks. While these can be a valuable supplement, it seems they are not all equal. Norma told us some guidelines for these drinks: they should have 15 grams of protein, 3 grams of fibre, less than 10 grams of sugar, no corn syrup, no hydrogenated vegetable oil, and at least 33% of the daily value for important vitamins and minerals. People on vegetarian or vegan diets will want to check first for the 15 grams of protein.

“May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold—and at the end of your rainbows may you find a pot of gold.” — Old Irish Blessing

Ruby McBeth lives and writes in Fort St. John