Ballroom and Latin Dancing

I have just finished doing this 8-week course and absolutely loved it.

It was presented by Alan and Pat Boulton's Ballroom Dancing Academy. Our teachers, Alan and Pat, were very patient and ensured that everyone received a lot of personal attention. The classes were casual and very friendly and I would recommend this course to anyone interested in learning to dance.

We learnt the following dances:

• Evening Three Step
• Foxtrot
• Gypsy Tap
• Jive
• Quick Step
• Rumba
• Salsa
• Samba
• Waltz

Speechcraft Course

I found this course quite challenging as each week you had to give an impromptu speech or act as master of ceremonies or timekeeper. Sometimes you just had to tell a joke. We had to give two prepared speeches: one approximately halfway through the course and the other one at the end. We were also given quite a bit of theory and some excellent notes. Overall I rated this course very good.

Belly Dancing

Belly dancing is fun and very good exercise. It is also an excellent "stress buster."

It is also a really good excuse to wear some exotic clothes.

Visit La Kasbah to see some belly dancers in Brisbane. The food here is also wonderful.

Lifelong Learning

Stafford Heights State School runs regular adult education classes: most are recreational, e.g., ballroom and Latin dancing, art, keyboards, singing, etc., and others are more vocationally based, e.g., Word, Excel, and public speaking.

I have done several of their classes and have always enjoyed them.

I took my dog Ling, a Pekinese/Maltese cross, to puppy obedience when she was a puppy. That was approximately 10 years ago and she wasn't the worst...

I have also done belly dancing and Latin and ballroom dancing. I enjoyed both of these immensely.

I have also done a Speechcraft course run by the local toastmasters and in the main enjoyed this due to the lovely people who gave their time every week to encourage all of us to struggle with the trauma of public speaking.