Cymdeithas Gymraeg Vancouver

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1 THE WELSH SOCIETY OF VANCOUVER Cymdeithas Gymraeg Vancouver Cambrian News Gaeaf Winter Society Newsletter Cylchgrawn y Gymdeithas Vancouver Orpheus Choir before their trip to Wales CAMBRIAN HALL, 215 East 17 th Ave, Vancouver B.C. V5V 1A6

VANCOUVER WELSH SOCIETY Officers: President: David Llewelyn Williams Vice- President: Antone Minard Secretary: Angela Smith mail@welshsociety.

2 VANCOUVER WELSH SOCIETY Officers: President: David Llewelyn Williams Vice- President: Antone Minard Secretary: Angela Smith Treasurer: Gaynor Evans Membership Secretary: Don Smith Immediate Past President: Jane Byrne Directors: Heather Davies Gwyn Evans Patricia Morris Mathew Parry Alcwyn Rogers Contacts Building Committee: Patricia Morris Cambrian Circle Singers: Nerys Haqq Church Service: Varied Welsh Speaking Group: Roy Beavon Rentals: RichardWilliams Social Events Committee: Gillian Rogers Webmaster: Alcwyn Rogers ( Newsletter Editor: David Llewelyn Williams Cambrian Hall The Cambrian News From The Editor: Many thanks to Eifion Williams for his articles on the Welsh Weekend and on Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones. Thanks too to both Alcwyn and Gillian Rogers. The Mimosa story and map is taken from an article in my 2003 copy of Ninnau. Iona Wyn Hall sent me several videos, on Patagonia and on Bardic Chairs. The Christmas events are soon upon us and we hope you will participate with enthusiasm. Particularly take note of the Annual General Meeting! This October was the 50th Anniversary of the drowning of the village of Capel Curig to create the Tryweryn Dam for Liverpool s water, which they needed to sell for profit. It awakened the Welsh to their lack of status. Google Tryweryn! Neville Thomas, a pillar of our society, has been rather unwell recently, but here he is holding a healthy fruit bouquet! We wish him a steady recovery. Nadolig LLawen a Blwyddyn Newydd DDa i Chwi Oll. David Llewelyn Williams

3 Forthcoming Events Thursday, December 3 rd at 7pm Last Welsh Lesson of the Term! Friday, December 4 th at 7pm for 7.30 Mulled Wine Evening Join us for a jolly evening to begin the Christmas Festivities. There will be Cranberry Punch if this is your preference. We will have some readings from A Child s Christmas in Wales and we ll join together to sing carols. You ll also have a chance to take home a special door prize and to check out our Christmas market. Monday, December 7 th at 7.30pm Executive Meeting Wednesday, December 9 th 11.30am Cambrian Bookworms will meet at a different location to discuss And the Mountains echoed by Khaled Husseini Contact Jane ( ) or Gillian ( ) for details. Sunday, December 13 th at 11.00am Bilingual Carol Service and Tê Bach Sunday, December 13 th at 2.00pm Children s Christmas Party for members children or grand-children, 12 years old and under. Please phone Gaynor Evans at with child/children s names and ages as soon as possible. Older children are welcome to join in the fun, but will not get to sit on Santa s knee. Monday, December 14 th at 7.30pm ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING This meeting is of great importance to the future of the Society, so please attend, offer your services and vote for next year s Executive. Saturday, December 19 th 6pm for 7pm Christmas Dinner catered by Jordan s. International Food Designs. We will enjoy a traditional Turkey and Ham dinner with all the trimmings. Tickets at $40 are available from Gaynor Evans at or fgevans@telus.net Congratulations! Heartiest Congratulations to our member Don Davies upon his re-election with a sizeable majority as Member of Parliament for Vancouver Kingsway! We trust his Welsh heritage will bring welcome influences to bear in Ottawa. Vancouver Orpheus Male Voice Choir tour Wales The Vancouver Orpheus Male Voice Choir lead by their director Liana Savard had a very successful tour of Wales in September and October. The Tour Committee consisted mainly of Welsh members of the choir who arranged seven concerts near their home towns. The choir participated in concerts with the following Male Voice Choirs, Cwmbach, Ebbw Vale (Glyn Ebwy) Llanelli, Whitland (Hendy-Gwyn) Aberystwyth, Colwyn Bay and Brymbo The choir's repertoire consisted mainly of songs composed and arranged by Canadian musicians and were very well received by the Welsh audiences. Alcwyn Rogers

CAPTAIN IEUAN LAMPSHIRE- JONES HONOURED BY THE VANCOUVER WELSH SOCIETY The Captain, whose life reads like a history of most of the last century, is highly respected and admired by Welsh Society

4 CAPTAIN IEUAN LAMPSHIRE- JONES HONOURED BY THE VANCOUVER WELSH SOCIETY The Captain, whose life reads like a history of most of the last century, is highly respected and admired by Welsh Society members. He was born in Aberarth, a small coastal village on the Cardigan coast. The village has a long maritime history and was an important port in the Middle Ages. In the 19 th century it had a thriving ship-building industry and the ships, mostly manned by local seamen, sailed to all parts of the world. After the ship-building industry declined the inhabitants of Aberarth continued their close association with the sea. Ieuan himself comes from a long line of seafarers. In a memoir written on his 80 th birthday he recalls that when he was a boy almost every other house in Aberarth was occupied by someone associated with the sea. He now says: I am the last Master Mariner born and raised in the village. Music was very much a part of Ieuan s early life and it still is. He recounts that the centre of village life was Bethel Chapel. He also recalls that the Bethel Sunday School had a special class for active and retired seamen, probably unique in Wales. He says his mother had a lovely soprano voice and members of the family and friends were avid soloists and choral singers. Given his background in Aberarth it is no wonder that Ieuan went to sea and contributed so much after he joined his first ship in Avonmouth in 1939 at the age of sixteen. A November, 2012 Veteran Profile of Ieuan in the magazine BC Shipping News carried the headline: SEAFARER OR SURVEYOR, CAPTAIN JONES OUTSHINES THEM ALL. The magazine recounted Ieuan s participation as a merchant seaman in the Second World War, for which he won six campaign medals, including the Burma Invasion Star, the North African Invasion Star and the Atlantic Star with clasp, denoting his contribution to the D- Day landing at Juno Beach. He was also a recipient of the World War 2 Civilian Medal. When he left the sea in 1969 Ieuan was the Senior Captain for one of the largest shipping companies in the world, World Wide Shipping out of Hong Kong. That same year he took up a position in Vancouver opening up a field office for SGS Supervision Services. As a Senior Principal and Manager for Gen-Testing Laboratories Ieuan built a formidable reputation for his expertise in marine surveying, covering a territory that included the entire Pacific Northwest from Northern California to Greenland. The job mainly involved ship inspections and the supervision of loading and final displacement surveys. Ieuan s expertise in bulk cargo loading led to his becoming well-known in the shipping world and his advice was sought by many companies and countries throughout the world. He was also in the habit of writing accounts of his working visits to places like the High Arctic, Brazil and China.

5 In May, 2013, the Association of Marine Surveyors of BC held an awards ceremony and dinner in honour of Ieuan. His wife Philomena continues to be a patient at North Vancouver s Evergreen Nursing Home. The Association presented a generous contribution to the nursing home, a gesture the Captain says he appreciated above all else. His three daughters Susan, Christine and Jill attended to share in celebrating their father s achievements. (October 2013 Newsletter) His cheerful personality and sense of humour contributed to the Captain s popularity with fellow mariners as it does to members of the Vancouver Welsh Society. He has served the Welsh Society in many capacities, including terms as President and Vice-President. He has also frequently played piano or organ accompaniments at events in the Cambrian Hall and has for many years played an active role in the Society s monthly bilingual church services. At our November 1 st service, Eifion Williams read out highlights from Ieuan s life achievements, concluding with the following remarks: I think it s appropriate that we recognize Ieuan s achievements today as part of the Vancouver Celebrates Wales events. It is here, in our monthly religious services at the Cambrian Hall that three major influences in Ieuan s life come together his faith, his music and his mother tongue all nurtured those many years ago in the village of Aberarth and Bethel Chapel. Ieuan, I believe I speak for all of us when I say thank you for all you have contributed, not only to us here in the Welsh Society but to people in so many parts of the world who have benefited from your lifetime of service. Captain, we salute you. Cymdeithas Madog In July Alcwyn and I attended Cwrs y Dargonfod This residential course of discovery was a week long Welsh course held in Portland, Oregon, arranged by the Welsh Studies Institute of North America, Cymdeithas Madog. The Institute is dedicated to helping North Americans use and enjoy the Welsh language. This excellent course comprised of six levels of tuition with experienced tutors from Toronto, New York, Wales and Vancouver. We were very pleased that the Vancouver tutor was our own Antone Minard. In addition to Alcwyn and me there was a third Vancouver student, Welsh Society member Mathew Parry. We had an amazing week in Lewis and Clark College and met lots of interesting people. Each day was full with learning Welsh in an immersive environment as well as participating in Welsh cultural activities such as, a Noson Lawen, an Eisteddfod and Dawnsio Gwerin. This is an annual course and next year it will be at the University of Alabama in the Rocket City of Huntsville. It will be held the week of July 17th to the 24th. I heartily recommend the experience! Gillian Rogers Dragons and Druids: Welsh History and Mythology Along with the Cornish, the Welsh are the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain. They have survived the Roman occupation, the Anglo-Saxon invasion, the Norman invasion, the English conquest and the Treachery of the Blue Books. An unofficial Welsh anthem is Yma O Hyd [We re] Still Here. A small nation rich in history, Wales has maintained its unique culture and language despite sharing an island with a powerful and expansive neighbour.

Our discussions will alternate between the cultural and the historical, as we explore what makes Wales Welsh as well as what happened to move history from one century to the next.

Week 1: The Oldest Language in Europe Week 2: The Mabinogion Week 3: Pre-Conquest Welsh History Week 4: Pre-Conquest Welsh Law and Custom Week 5: The Act of Union and Other Fictions Week 6: Wild

The Cost is $169 but only $110 for those aged 55+. Details may be found at http://www.sfu.ca/continuingstudies/courses/ahcp/2016/02/286dragons-and-druids-welsh-histroy-andmythology.

6 Our discussions will alternate between the cultural and the historical, as we explore what makes Wales Welsh as well as what happened to move history from one century to the next. Along the way, we ll discuss the Welsh language (not as difficult as it looks), aspects of the culture and prospects for future nationhood. Week 1: The Oldest Language in Europe Week 2: The Mabinogion Week 3: Pre-Conquest Welsh History Week 4: Pre-Conquest Welsh Law and Custom Week 5: The Act of Union and Other Fictions Week 6: Wild Wales and the Industrial Revolution This course will be given by Antone Minard as part of Simon Fraser University s Continuing Studies Program starting on Tuesday, February 23. The Cost is $169 but only $110 for those aged 55+. Details may be found at Dewi Emrys Eisteddfod Chairs At the 1948 Eisteddfod in Bridgend, the Vancouver Welsh Society donated the Bardic Chair and Vancouver s Thomas Edwards was the first Leader of the Overseas Welsh. I discovered that Dewi Emrys was the chaired bard that year and that this was his fourth Chair. Indeed after his win the rules were changed to limit any bard to two Chairs (and two Crowns). I became very interested in Dewi and bought a biography of him by the poet Eluned Phillips, who herself won two Crowns. A wonderful book, which I discussed in a Sgwrs one Sunday. Iona Wyn Hall sent me a utube video of an S4C program featuring poet Twm Morys seeking lost Bardic Chairs including those of Dewi Emrys. When I visited Wales last summer she very kindly offered to drive me to Chirk Castle to see his first chair. Here it is! The carved writing at the top reads Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Frenhinol Cymru ; at the bottom reads Nerth Bardd ei Awen (The poet s strength lies in his muse) and behind the cushion is carved Lerpwl 1929 When Dewi won his third chair in Bangor in 1943, no chair had been made because of the war, so he was seated in Robert Williams Parry s Chair and awarded an elaborate medallion, which does exist. But his other two chairs are still missing! So here at least is a picture of Dewi sitting in our chair in 1948!

7 VANCOUVER CELEBRATES WALES WEEKEND On the weekend of October 30th to November 1st our Society held its Vancouver Celebrates Wales Festival. It commenced on Friday evening with a Vancouver Celebrates Wales musical evening at the West Point Grey United Church. The Master of Ceremonies was Russell Roberts, who interspersed the programme with readings of passages from Dylan`s Under Milk Wood. The Cambrian Chorus, formed from the Vancouver Welsh Men`s Choir and the Vancouver Orpheus Choir, led by Lynn Owens-Whalen, provided rousing opening and closing choral selections. Huw Evans, a folk singer, composer and flautist from Neath, South Wales, pleased the audience with two flute solos and his original song compositions; O Gymru i Ganada, an immigrant`s lament for the Welsh homeland, and The Shores of Three Cliffs Bay in praise of a Swansea Bay landmark. Nerys Jones, a popular mezzo-soprano and harpist from Seattle, sang a wide range of musical numbers, including a Welsh and Irish folk song and a rousing Gipsy Fiddler by Frank Lehar. Nerys also received wide applause for two contemporary Welsh compositions, Digon i mi by Rhys Jones, and the popular Anfonaf Angel by Robat Arwyn. Richard Williams, a baritone with a distinguished international operatic career, greatly impressed the audience with the polished and impressive range of his voice. Richard is the Artistic Director of Opera Pro Cantanti, which performs at the Cambrian Hall. Karen Lee Morang and the Lady Larks presented a number of vintage 1940`s and 1950``s toe-tapping swing numbers. The group exhibited much humour, charm and virtuosity in their musical numbers. On Saturday afternoon, October 31 st, David Llewelyn Williams presented a programme at the Cambrian Hall to celebrate the 150 th Anniversary of the Welsh landing in Patagonia. David showed a short video of the Liverpool ceremony commemorating the departure of the Mimosa in 1865 and followed this with an account of the circumstances and hardships encountered on the voyage. He then showed Huw Edwards S4C film of his 2014 visit to Patagomia in which he discussed both the settlement history and the current state of the Welsh language in Patagonia. David concluded with a copy of a Patagonian adaptation of the Welsh National Anthem that had been discovered in the National Library of Wales archives last June. The Sunday morning bi-lingual religious service on November 1 st, was dedicated to our Society`s long-time member, Captain Ieuan Lampshire-Jones. The final event of the Welsh weekend was the traditional annual Gymanfa Ganu. The conductor this year was Rupert Lang, Organist and Music Director at Vancouver`s Christ Church Cathedral. The accompanist was Eric Hominick, while Nerys Jones and Huw Evans were again the soloists. Those attending enjoyed a robust hymn-singing session despite the fact that attendance at the event was down from past years. The events of the Vancouver Celebrates Wales weekend were organized by members of the Welsh Society s Social Committee Gillian Rogers (Chair), Jane Byrne, Heather Davies, Gaynor Evans, Mary Lewis, Pat Morris, Lynn Owens-Whalen, Angela Smith and Kathy Thomas. Eifion Williams

8 The Voyage to Patagonia People gathered in Liverpool awaiting the Halton Castle, expected on April 26. But it was still on the high seas! Opposition to the venture was growing in momentum in the press. A ship had to be found quickly! The Mimosa was a 12 year old tea clipper which had to be refitted to carry passengers. Tiers of planks were nailed along the sides of the holds for sleeping accommodation open berths for single men, enclosed berths for families and single women. Tables, benches and storage boxes were made and a ladder for access to the deck. Passengers boarded on May 25 and the ship sailed on May 28. A fierce storm off the coast of Anglesey abated after two days and under full sail, Mimosa passed the Scilly Islands, Cornwall and the Irish Coast. On June 2, a widow and a widower, both with children, were married. Five days later 2 year old Catherine Jane Thomas died as did 2 ½ year old James Jenkins one day later. But on June 11, Mary Morgan Jones gave birth to a son, Morgan. This happy event alleviated some of the grief. Warm tropical breezes wafted towards them as they continued south; passengers even swam in the sea on June 21. The Equator was crossed on June 28, but then they entered the Doldrums. The sea became millpond- still, the sails hung limp and there was little to do. But people formed groups and alliances, which would remain in Patagonia. Conditions were cramped in the extreme. In the middle of July they saw the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, but then a storm swept them 300 miles off course and they raised the sails and limped back on their course. The weather grew chilly as they neared the end of their Voyage. Finally at 7 am on Wednesday July 26 they sighted land. Low white hills, dark capped with struggling vegetation; not like the green hills of Wales. They sailed in the moonlight into New Bay and dropped anchor on July 27. They were 7000 miles from Wales, 400 miles by sea from the closest settlement and were isolated in the most desolate part of the world. But, despite all odds, they survived drought, flood, scarcity of food and the harsh climate.

9 A forgotten version of the Welsh national anthem has been rediscovered. The National Library of Wales curated an exhibition entitled Gwladfa (Colony) in celebration of the 150 th Anniversary of the Colony. As Jason Davies sorted through the research material, he came across an old pamphlet, dated 1875, entitled Adroddiad y Parch. D. S. Davies am Sefyllfa y Wladfa Gymreig in which the author reports on the state of agriculture, the wild life, animals, religion, and all aspects of life in the Colony. At the very end of the report, under the title Gwlad Newydd y Cymry is a song, attributed to one Lewis Evans, a poet, harpist, and one of the first Welsh settlers to immigrate to Patagonia. The song portrays a people celebrating the foundation of a truly Welsh Nation, free from the historic oppression of their tradition, language and culture. NEW LAND OF THE WELSH (translation D. Ll. Williams) Patagonia is dear to me. The new land of the Welsh, so pleasantly gentle is she, We can breathe the true freedom we have in this land, Beyond the reach of betrayal and oppression. Land, land, I pledge allegiance to my land, So long as the sun shines above our pampas. O! may the Wladfa endure. The Welsh lay under a burden of scorn. Well, thanks to the Wladfa, we rose from the dust; We will keep our old language with dignity and fame, As long as the sparkling Camwy waters flow. A Welshman no longer need ever submit to an Englishman, His oppression is over; silenced is his voice, We will glorify the Wladfa as long as the great white Andes Stands with its summits in the space of the dawn.

Cymdeithas Gymraeg Vancouver

THE WELSH SOCIETY OF VANCOUVER Cymdeithas Gymraeg Vancouver Cambrian News Hydref Autumn 2015 2015 Society Newsletter Cylchgrawn y Gymdeithas Meifod Eisteddfod Opening Ceremony CAMBRIAN HALL, 215 East 17