20 September 1999

Hi all you mad Beach Boogie lot

Thank you for making Beach Boogie ’99 so much fun! We really appreciate the atmosphere of total mucking in and mucking about that you all brought to the event. This really makes it special for us, and something that we are very proud to be a part of.

Such a good time was being had by all the teachers at Beach Boogie that certain things completely slipped our minds. One such major blunder came at the end when we forgot to thank the umpalumpas for their incredible efforts. They took so much of the background work off our hands and so allowed us to concentrate our energies on the lessons, entertainment, water fights etc. So a bid hand to Asif, Debz, Derek, Linda, Mark, Mark, Neil and Sophie.

Is is vaguely possible that our heavy demands will have frightened off some of these hardy helpers (opting for an easier life in the Marines). So if you think you can run around for 10 hours a day, cope with sleep deprivation, think fast, smile through it all, and risk bruises, breaks and bites (main danger from Rena) and not get paid a bean for it (think we’ve sold this well), then give us a call.

Videos — we are working on the footage to cut it down from 10 hours of hilarious messy fun to 2–4 hours of hilarious messy fun. Editing will be basic, but from our sneak preview I can say that the content will be great! Some top footage of chickens and stocks and water/pie fights and cabarets and competitions; and oh yes — the lessons. So if you want a copy (that includes those who have already given us their names), please complete the form and give us your money!

T-shirts — we have managed to get a few more Beach Boogie T-shirts printed at a reasonable cost, and so anyone who missed out at Beach Boogie can now order them using the enclosed order form. You should order quickly to have the best chance of getting the size and colour you prefer.

All the madness of Beach Boogie will happen again next summer, but if you can’t wait till then, don’t worry. Jump ’n’ Jive run various events throughout the year, mainly in the London area.

• Andy and Rena teach baby aerials and lively swing jive once a month (see yellow flyer or this website). The October lesson has a section on musical interpretation and the November lesson includes blues with Simon Selmon.
• Andy and Rena’s aerials also happen once a month (see also yellow flyer or this website) concentrating solidly on the more manic manoeuvres.
• By popular demand, Nigel & Nina will be Swingin’ the Blues; on Saturday 11 December at Chiswick Town Hall — an afternoon of workshops in the art of Blues Dancing followed by an evening of Jive, Swing & Blues dancing in association with Dance Crazy. For more details see the Swingin’ the Blues section of this website.
• We’re all in Sheffield for Halloween, teaching in a bumper weekend of dancing and frolics, organised by Debz of "Swing Jive" (phone 0114 267 8286 for more details).

If you want to organise something in your area, contact us to find out what we can offer in the way of lessons, cabaret, or other wacky ways of causing chaos at your event. On a more local basis, we can simply add a cabaret to your evening party, or provide a lesson to kick it off.

A final big thankyou to everyone who gave us feedback on this year’s event. We had a good laugh reading them, and they’ll even help us in our planning for next year (especially in choosing candidates for the stocks.) Nina has spent many an hour matching handwriting on feedback and booking forms...

You may have had further thoughts since you completed the form — if so please send them in (especially wacky ideas for Beach Boogie 2000). Watch out for the Beach Boogie 2000 brochure in the New Year.

Andy Rena Nigel Nina