That Girl from Derwent dwells on the value of religion this Christmas.
That Girl from Derwent has learned a few more things about prejudice since moving up North.
That Girl From Derwent reckons if you're going to be offensive, you should find a better reason.
That Girl from Derwent considers why it is that some words have wider implications than others.
So... Where to start? I guess that unlike my blogs, and the other York Come Dancing blog, the information is to be more general. You don't really care who I am or what I do but are more interested in the dance and competition overall.
I'm Jason Rose and I'm dancing the Viennese Waltz with Claire Cornock. It's basically a very fast waltz that requires me to get as dizzy as possible in as short a time as possible. Or, at least, that's what I seem to have gathered from the time I have spent so far.
Anyway, Sunday saw our first practice. It went pretty well, to be honest; and not just for me but for most people there, to varied extents. Emily Scott was putting up with some rough treatment by the dancefloor itself, Peter Warner-Medley was getting used to dancing with someone of the opposite gender, Lewis was testing his weight-lifting prowess and Ollie Hutchings had an unusually-shaped bottom... so things went pretty much as expected.
I, personally, got off to an acceptable start; slowly trying to get the hang of the very simple base-moves of the Viennese and then understand how our dance will start. I'm lucky to get a dance that isn't overcomplicated, or likely to make either one of us heavily bruised etc. And nothing so far has gone significantly wrong.
Those that fared well, in my humble (and non-expert) opinion, were Tim Ngwena, Lewis Bretts (both as expected) and Peter Warner-Medley. Many others aren't far behind but my money has shifted from Tim - where, I'll be honest, I was expecting to keep my trust placed - and onto Peter, who I think will get good scores with the judges (as his dancing was pretty good today compared to many of us!) and also with the public, who will love him.
We should have a facebook group up soon, as will the others, so search us out and add us.
But also, don't forget that the entire thing is in aid of RAG. I was thinking about it again - that RAG is one of the best things you can get involved in at university. As with the Butterfly Effect, you can raise a pound in humble little York and it can make a world of difference to those in Africa. WaterAid are a fantastic charity across the world for making a small amount of money have a dramatic impact - and most of the others are similarly great but also close enough to visit. You can spend a weekend hitching a lift to Dublin, get wasted and come back; and as a side-effect save lives across the planet. You can dress up like a caveman and run around town like a maniac at RAG Parade and gain hundreds of pounds for people who really need the money.
RAG is a great way of raising and giving money for/to the charities that University of York students have elected and I would strongly urge as many of you as possible to get involved in raising money for them.
So get ready for an amazing event; there are things I have heard about this year's YCD (but can't tell you, unfortunately) that make me think it's going to be amazing... but that's for the various people to work out between them. I'm just going to concentrate on counting to three and not treading on toes for a month and a bit.
More information about York Dancesport can be found on the Dance Sport Website. To follow York Come Dancing's updates on twitter, click here.
And if you have any questions about the blog, dancing in general or York Come Dancing, post them below and I'll be happy to try and answer them (or get someone else to).
Who is this Jason Rose chap? Don't know him from Adam.
Howdy, Oli... Adam who? 
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