Review: Fine Food Fayre & Ceilidh

Last Sunday, the RAG week Fine Food Fayre literally stuffed Younger Hall from 11-5. The room was a foodie’s idea of heaven, filled with stalls selling everything from olive oil and deli products to freshly caught smoked salmon. The event was open to both students and the public and accommodated all ages by providing food demonstrations throughout the day as well as a kid’s creative station. Several student societies were also on hand to provide free testers of a variety of foods including Chinese and Greek.

The relaxed atmosphere was helped along by performances from the Accidentals, The Other Guys and a jazz band. I literally relished wandering around the stalls, especially as it gave you a chance to sample some of the best local cuisine around, as well as talk to the stall owners who were all incredibly passionate about their wares. All in all, the event was a huge success with over £5000 raised for charity, along with providing an excellent excuse for me to help myself to some really delicious food.

Monday night was consumed by the ceilidh. It may look like an odd word, but in my opinion it’s always one of the best evenings of RAG week, and this year was no exception. Despite still feeling the after-effects of Refreshers Week, the room quickly filled with students who looked ready to bust some serious moves. The night started with the ever popular Gay Gordon which moved swiftly into Strip the Willow, a crowd favourite. The band played fantastically and had everyone up on their feet, with or without a dance partner. A real treat appeared in the form of three members of the St Andrews Dance Society’s highland troupe, who performed a set of traditional Scottish dances whilst we all clapped along.

After a quick snack on a Tunnock’s caramel wafer, dancing resumed with a particularly rowdy rendition of the Collision Jig which had many people in stitches. The ceilidh can certainly be considered yet another RAG week success, this time raising money for Class Gift 2013, from which the proceeds go to the Student’s Association Bursary. Both the Fine Food Fayre and the ceilidh were a fantastic way to start RAG Week 2013 and I only hope that the rest of the events this week are of such a rad-RAG standard.

Headline image ©Callum Hyland http://www.callumhylandphotography.com/Events/