News/Photos 2026

Sunday 19th July 2026 - June's Charity Garden Party

What a fantastic afternoon we had at June's house and garden.  June is the perfect host supplying us with lovely food and drinks all afternoon and going the extra mile to make us all so welcome.  Her garden is an absolute picture and the weather was perfect, sunny, but not too hot.  We danced, ate, drank, chatted and had such a nice time.  June raised an amazing £724 towards our 2026 charity, Encircles.  A massive thank you to her and Bill for opening up their home once again.  See photos and film clip below ...

Sunday 14th June 2026 - In-House Charity Tea Dance at Laverstock Village Hall, Mickey Page

Another charity tea dance, this time on a smaller scale - just for Mulepackers - at our own Laverstock Village Hall.  However, we had 50 people attending  and that was with a few who couldn't make it at the last minute.  Bit of a panic about how we would all fit in, but we turned the large kitchen area into a cafe for tea and cakes with the small kitchen for making the tea and displaying the cakes.    Mo made a wonderful selection of delicious cakes which were very much appreciated.  We were lucky to be able to fling open the fire doors for people to sit in the breeze if they wanted.

Emm helped in the morning with setting up the stage, the kitchen, the raffle etc., then Pete & Jan came early to help with seating etc.  It's so nice to get all this support.  We also had a shop with 2nd hand western clothes in the foyer.

Mickey Page was brilliant, entertaining as usual, and played a lof of songs for dances we all knew.  He has posted a video clip,  of dancing with Mel on stage, on his own Facebook page of how much he enjoyed it. Mike DJ'd inbetween.  We had a lot of our new beginners joining us and everyone worked together to welcome them and make it a great success.  It was a lovely atmosphere.

Marg and Kay sold raffle tickets which all added to the charity fund, so thank you all for bringing prizes, buying tickets. etc.

We weren't too sure how much we would make for the charity as this was just an in house social, and we were paying a singer, but we were able to give £200 to the charity pot which now takes it up to £780.  Our charity this year is "Encircles" - a homeless charity.  See photos and video below.

Sunday 8th March 2026 - Charity Tea Dance at Alderbury Village Hall, Jeff Gallant

We held our first charity tea dance of the year at Alderbury Village Hall yesterday, 8th March 2026 which was really well supported and we had some lovely feedback from many of you.  Jeff Gallant, our singer, was an absolute gentleman with a lovely voice and personality to match.  He invited our own Rob (RJ Montana) on stage to do a couple of songs which was a nice spontaneous surprise.  Mike DJ'd for the first 40 minutes with some easier dances so our new members could get up on the floor (a little daunting when you first start), but I heard from them that some of our experienced dancers were really welcoming and encouraging, so thank you for that.  

We stopped at 3.30 pm for tea/coffee and cakes - homemade by June and Mo.  So lovely that you support us with your baking.  The new system of having a specific break seemed to work well.  It was changed because of the problems of walking across the floor with hot drinks when dancing is taking place, but we are open to feedback about the new system.  Emma, Jan, Pete and several of our new members helped serving cakes and drinks and I know it was a mammoth effort.  Thank you so much.

Our last social was held at Wyvern school which is a much bigger and more expensive hall, so I asked for feedback on preferred venues.  Many of you said you preferred Alderbury even though it is smaller and sometimes gets a bit hot.  It certainly means we can give more to the charity, even though some of you were sat in places where you couldn't see the stage or have much space, but never complained.  Thank you everyone for your give and take on this.  Emma and I visited the hall in the week to see how we could best place chairs to accommodate the larger numbers, but we will keep thinking on this one.  

Kay and Mo sold raffle tickets, thank you both.  The raffle alone raised £159 so thank you all for your generosity and for bringing prizes.

Again thanks to those who came early to help set up, Rob, Selena, Jan, Pete, Emma .. to name but a few and thank you all Mulepackers for making it a great charity event.  Our total raised was £440 for our new charity, "Encircles".  It's a brilliant kick-start.  See photos and video clip below ...