Arnie Skelton

We have some Ukranian friends, and recently attended a wedding, and last night were at another Ukrainian party, celebrating an 18th birthday. They are terrific events. There is always live Ukrainian folk music, and spectacular Ukrainian folk dancing. On both occasions the dancing was completely spontaneous: as the band moved into its instrumental section, party goers left their seats and for the next 15 minutes, treated their guests to (in effect) a free cabaret of the highest quality. I sat engrossed and thrilled, and realised how great it has been to have access to this culture. Without wanting to get heavy, it also made me quite proud of our heritage, that we have welcomed such a wide range of cultures into our society, I think to everyone’s benefit. A briliant example of this was the ‘birthday song’. It was sung twice: firstly, in the Ukrainian version, and then in the traditional British version. Both were sung with equal gusto. Fabulous.