'Circle of Friends' dance the night away at Dooley's Hotel in Waterford
Lya Carew, Richard Haberlin and Olive Cullen in high spirits, at the Circle of Friends Christmas Dinner Dance held in Dooley’s Hotel
The Circle of Friends had a wonderful night at Dooley's Hotel last week.
Organised by friends Olive Cullen and Lya Carew, the dance and dinner was a lovely evening of good food, music, dancing and chat.
The gang meet up in Dooley's on Tuesday mornings. According to Olive: "Dooley's are very good to us, they reserve a table for 16 of us and we all do whatever we want ourselves, here from about half ten until one o'clock."
The nights livery showed how much the group has grown over the past year.
Olive said: "We've all become great friends. During the summer, we go out on day trips, or go out for a walk. Then we go to the Roanmore (Sports and Social Club) every Thursday night, they supply us with all the tea and coffee and we supply the biscuits!"
The events provide connection and company for people who may be living on their own, who are widowed, have family living away or who simply want to meet new people.
Dancing and music is a huge part of the night. As Olive said: "We're not professional dancers. You don't have to be asked to dance, we just get out and dance."
Over 30 people braved the bitter December cold to come out for the dance.
Olive said: "This is our dinner dance; its just great like to have somewhere else to go. Like, a lot of men too can be at home lonely and thinking; 'Where can I go?'
"They can always come up here and after an hour, they think they know us all."
When it comes to dancing, Olive offered great advice: "If you've never danced before, just put one foot in front of the other and you're there."
