Saturday morning 8^th December 2001 had arrived. The skies were clearing from overnight rain and a cool breeze looked like it would keep away the heat of the previous weeks. I had gathered all our decorations from their storage place under the house, Linda had lovingly put together three large Christmas Hampers, the garage fridge was full of leg hams and the video camera was charged and ready. The realization was dawning, we were now preparing for our last dance!

Strangely though, after all these years there wasn’t any sadness, just an eerie feeling of unreality. Soon Ruth, Robbie, Jackie, Glad and Ernie came to help us transport everything to Jannali, and everything was packed into the cars and off we went. About six months ago we had decided not to rent the big hall at Sylvania for our Christmas Party this year, due in part to falling numbers. But after having made our decision to retire, it was only right that we should have our last dance in this hall – the home of Knee-Deep.

Walking into the empty hall felt no different than any other time and before long a large group of helpers was getting stuck into it. A magical transformation slowly took place as hundreds of balloons, long strings of tinsel, miles of streamers and many other decorations were spread along the bare walls. The occasional sound of bursting balloons made sure that everyone was awake! Our stage became a winter wonderland as Ruth & Robbie’s Xmas tree and Daisy & Alf’s Santa cottage took shape. All was soon in readiness so it was back home for something to eat and to get ready for the big night.

By 6 o’clock we were back again. Eighteen legs of ham were safely stored in the refrigerators and the sounds of Christmas carols were soon filling the air. No doubt in order to secure a good parking spot, many dancers were in the hall by 7 o’clock. There was no reason to wait until the scheduled 7:30 start so round dancing was the way to go. The hall gradually began to fill almost to overflowing, and the first round up resulted in about 18 squares on the floor. Visitors had come from far and wide and we were privileged to host dancers from Queensland, Canberra, Kiama, Shoalhaven, the Central Coast and all parts of Sydney. What a great crowd - but it didn’t feel overcrowded as the atmosphere was happy and the breeze was cool.

We danced Basics, Mainstream, Plus and Rounds until 9 o’clock when the sound of jingling bells heralded the arrival of Santa. What a jolly fellow he is, and he had a gift for everyone! There was lots more dancing and everyone was thrilled and amazed as Katie, Benjamin, Hayley and Michael all had a call. At 10:30 we had a supper break which gave us all a bit of time to talk. Many dancers took the time to write their thoughts and reminisce over the last 23 years in our "Book of Memories". We will look back on these words often.

The moment we had all been waiting for was now upon us – the drawing of the hamper raffle! Narelle Avis, Bob & Nita Sagar and Irene Hampton won the three main hampers (which included a leg of ham in each). Over a hundred other prizes including another 15 legs of ham were won. Many people kindly donated theirs prizes back for others to have a chance of winning when their tickets had already been picked out several times. It was a very exciting time.

Ruth Best made a marvelous speech and presented us with a large check on behalf of everybody who had donated. We were thoroughly grateful and humbled by the love that was felt in every word. Linda and I managed to reply without too many tears, and I hope our words came across with the sincerity that we felt. Square dancing has meant a lot for us, and we do not give it away lightly. We will miss the thrill of running Knee-Deep Squares, but we leave with the belief that we have done our best for square dancing.

The night could not end on a sad note, so we had a few more dances before the night was through. The final bracket started with a love song to Linda "The Wonder of You", in the middle was "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" and the last call was "What A Wonderful World". To finish off we all joined hands in a huge "Knee-Deep Circle" of friends.

The rest is a bit of a blur, but somehow with the help of many hands we took down the decorations and cleaned the hall. We shook many hands, kissed many friends and said many good-byes and before we knew it, it was all over. When everyone had gone home, Linda and I turned off the lights. We looked at each other and she said to me "We built a mountain in this hall - and we have just jumped off".