The Welsh Norwegian Society Open to all with an interest in Norway
NEWSLETTER Winter/Spring 2006
A world-beating Norwegian-Welsh partnership visited the Norwegian Church in September 2009: Former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg and his Welsh co-driver Phil Mills brought their Subaru car to the Norwegian Church for a photocall before the start of Wales Rally GB.
Dear Members,
Although it is a little late, may I wish you a very Happy New Year. I am looking forward to seeing you all at our various monthly meetings throughout the coming year.
Averil Goldsworthy (Chairman)
A Note from Mary Allen, Newsletter Editor
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Winter/Spring Newsletter, which will be my last newsletter as Editor. After much thought, I have decided to hand over the reins to other members of the society. I am very grateful to all those who have contributed to the newsletters over the past two years. It has made my job so much easier when there has always been a selection of articles to edit.
Of course, the work would have been much more difficult without the constant help of Elizabeth Rokkan, whose superior translation skills have enabled close links with the Norwegian Church in London and events in Norway. I would also like to thank Rowan Huntley who originally formatted the newsletter for me, so patiently and well. Rowan was followed by Karen Allen, who has managed to find time, in her very busy schedule, to give the newsletter a very professional look.
I have been pleased, during my two years of office, to receive articles from Les Bailey and Stan Royden, both members of the Scandinavian Church in Liverpool. We have an item from Stan Royden in this issue. As a result of editing the newsletter, my knowledge of Norwegian affairs has greatly improved over the past two years and I look forward to reading further interesting articles in future newsletters.
Mary Allen
Please send contributions for future newsletters to: Alan Hall
A letter from Kristin Ofstad Christmas 2005
Reverend Kristin Ofstad was inducted to the Thurso Church on 3 September 2005. She is a Norwegian passport holder, with family living in Stavanger, but has not lived in Norway very much. From 1992, she lived in South Wales and was an active member of the Norwegian community in Cardiff. She nursed her husband, Tom, for thirteen months before he died in March 2005. She has sent this open letter, so that Cardiff friends can keep in touch.
Dear Friends,
Please get your atlas out and look at Scotland. The very north of Scotland. Unless, of course, you are one of those rare people who already know where Thurso is. I certainly did not have a clue when I saw the vacant pastorate on the United Reformed Church’s vacancy list last May. But here I am, living on the edge of the world, next stop the North Pole.
I do admit that some days I look out of my window at the magnificent view of Thurso, Scrabster harbour (where the ferry leaves for Orkney), the Orkney Islands, and Dunnett Head (northernmost point of mainland Britain), and I have to pinch myself.
The WOW factor is pretty substantial. Wow because I am living and working in such an amazing place, with such wonderful caring people. Wow because my life has taken such turns in the last few years and here I am starting all over again. Wow because there has been such a sense of amazing grace gently flooding my life – it seems, lately, that it’s a gift.
Tom would have loved it here. Just his sort of place! Huge house to look after, massive garden with potential, small town where he would quickly have made friends. The irony is that he would never, ever have agreed to move up here. Too far north. And too cold. Winters too long, etc. I have to admit that the weather can be spectacularly bad; we had some storms here two weeks ago that were awesome. Thurso sits right on the sea, it comes roaring straight in so the whole town is filled with the raw noise of it. Some nights, when the sea is really wild, the thunder and roar of it keeps me awake. I love it! The wind is the main bugbear, though. When severe gales are forecast, you know that going outside is going to be a challenge.
A lot of the time, the weather is great. Today (22 November 2005) we’ve got the best weather in the U.K. – clear blue sky, mild temperature, no wind. When it’s like this, the place and the landscape are stunning, especially the sky.
So: when are you coming to visit? I would love to see you! There’s loads of room in the manse and, once you arrive in Thurso, you can walk just about everywhere. I hardly use the car unless the weather is truly foul or I am very busy.
My family are coming to spend New Year with me. The town celebrates by hosting a street party on New Year’s Eve, and, if the firework display we had on 5 November is anything to go by, it will be a fun affair. My mother has been here twice now and loves it. Once New Year has come and gone, I will feel well settled and she will be spending more time here with me.
All good wishes for Christmas and the New Year!
Love, Kristin
Christmas in the Norwegian Mission to Seamen’s Church, Swansea by Lisken Jellings
Lisken and Tony Jellings were christened together, confirmed and married in the Swansea church and three of their children were christened there. Tony contributed an article for the Autumn 2005 newsletter.
We knew Christmas was coming when the big packing cases arrived from Norway in December. They contained hundreds of gaily-wrapped parcels to be given to the sailors who would be in port over the Christmas period.
Our Norwegian Church stood at the entrance to the Prince of Wales Dock in Swansea. It wasn’t very grand. It looked like a large corrugated iron shed with a small steeple, but inside was a church, a reading room, a kitchen, a billiard and games room, and a vestry. It welcomed, and was a home for, all Scandinavian sailors and it was open seven days a week. There were newspapers from every town in Norway and fresh coffee and waffles in the kitchen. It didn’t take long to put a pretty cloth on a table and serve coffee if a sailor called to ask for help or advice or just talk.
Including the minister’s family, we were five Norwegian families. We met every Sunday morning for a service but at Christmas time we had parties in the evening every time a ship came into port. Led by the minister’s wife, we would arrive in the afternoon and prepare open sandwiches and cakes. Some of us laid the tables and decorated them with candles and stars and twigs of fir tree. All the chairs from the church were placed around the tables and the Christmas tree was pulled into the middle of the church.
As is the tradition in Scandinavia, after our guests had eaten we went into the church and formed a circle around the tree. When there were many sailors, we had to have two circles and sometimes even three! It was not unheard of for us to walk around singing and occasionally changing directions, for well over an hour.
We didn’t only sing carols, but had a store of Norwegian action songs as well.
Here in Brighton when the whole family gathers on Christmas Eve, we still sing around the tree before we open our presents. Our grandchildren love the action songs.
When I was very small my parents used to put me down to sleep (halfway through the proceedings) in the pulpit. It was lined with burgundy-coloured plush and they used a few kneelers to stop me rolling down the stairs onto the floor.
After the carol singing the sailors all lined up and were given a present from the packing cases. These had been prepared by hundreds of groups of women in Norway. The presents sometimes had specific labels; e.g. ‘To the engineer’ or ‘To the sailor with the biggest hole in his socks’. We could guess what was in that present!
They appreciated the homemade presents but it seemed to me that it was the letters that accompanied them that were most precious. A hush used to fall on the room as they were read and safely stowed away in pockets.
Happy Memories.
The parties usually ended with the minister reading the Christmas story followed by a short prayer and then we rose and sang the national anthems of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark with gusto. We always left with the feeling that a good time had been had by everyone. I miss those parties every Christmas.
Lisken Jellings
The Norwegian Feeling For Real
‘Leopard VI: The Norwegian Feeling For Real’, recently published by Harvill Press, London is a collection of the most exciting and interesting short fiction being produced now and over the past four decades by Norwegian writers.
The anthology was launched by Queen Sonja of Norway at an event at Groucho Club, London, during the Norwegian Royal Visit to the UK in late October 2005. In the Queen’s speech, she highlighted the close literary ties between Norway and the United Kingdom and expressed her hope that the anthology would captivate British readers.
In a Publisher’s Note at the beginning of the book, Christopher Maclehose of Harvill Press comments: ‘In my lifetime of publishing translated literature from 34 languages‚ no ambassador has done more for his country’s authors than Norway’s former ambassador to the UK, Tarald O. Brautaset. His support for Norway’s writers, his insistence upon the seriousness of their cause, and his and his wife Elisabeth’s hospitality to them and their publishers knew no bounds. His term of duty in London will be remembered with gratitude and affection, and this work is respectfully dedicated to them both.
Royal & Political News from Norway
Wednesdays off and more sailing for King Harald
King Harald, Norway’s monarch, has reluctantly agreed to take life easier from 2006. His reduced workload is being sketched out with advisers, in consultation with his family and personal physician. King Harald will take one day off each week, probably Wednesday, and he will try to keep weekends free as much as possible. He will still lead Friday Cabinet meetings, receive formal audiences and carry out constitutional duties. The King wishes to continue certain types of weekend engagements, such as sporting events and the investiture of bishops. Aftenposten, 16th December 2005
Norway’s monarchy turns 100
In November, Norway’s monarchy celebrated 100 years since the current royal family was officially established. King Harald and son, Crown Prince Haakon gave an exclusive interview to Aftenposten to mark the occasion. A gala ball was held at the palace to mark the end of months of official events tied to Norway’s centennial year. Aftenposten, 21st November 2005
Royal birth
Crown Princess Mette-Marit , wife of Crown Prince Haakon, gave birth to a son, Prince Sverre Magnus on 3rd December. The baby, who is third in line to the throne, was carried by his mother into Asker Church, west of Oslo, for services on Christmas Eve.
The Norwegian General Election, 2005
The Norwegian General Election which took place on 12″ September resulted in a win for the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiett) led by Jens Stoltenberg, son of a former Foreign Minister, Thorvald Stoltenberg. The Labour Party did better than the Christian Democrats by only a small margin, and will have to rely on the collaboration of the Socialist Left (Sosialistisk Venstre Parti) and the Centre Party to govern. The Christian Democrat Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik resigned from politics in October after presenting his budget to the Storting.
Translated from the Norwegian press by Elizabeth Rokkan
Ibsen 2006
‘Wake the people and make them think big’
2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of the death of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, a man whose calling was to ‘awake the people and make them think big’.
A wide range of events will take place throughout the year both in Norway and worldwide, which will highlight the importance of Ibsen’s legacy and provide opportunities for fresh interpretations of his work. It is said that during 2006 at least one of his plays will be performed on a stage somewhere in the world, every single day!
The Royal Norwegian Embassy has launched an Ibsen micro-site http://www.norway.org.uk/ibsen which will list all events taking place in Britain. For information about worldwide events, log on to the official Ibsen 2006 website http://www.ibsen.net
Simon Callow paid tribute to Ibsen in a Guardian article of September 2005, and this can be read by logging on to http://www.guardian.co.uk and searching for ‘Simon Callow, Ibsen’.
The Crown of Norway
The following passage was published in The Church Times of 25″ November 2005. It originally appeared exactly one hundred years earlier in The Church Times of 25th November 1905, the year of Norway’s independence.
Thanks to Elizabeth Rokkan for drawing the article to our attention.
It is not often that a revolution is carried out without bloodshed. Norway is one of the few favoured countries that have succeeded in doing this, and on Monday she entered on a new phase of her political life with a King of her own election to reign over her. The choice of Prince Charles of Denmark, henceforth to be known as King Haakon the Seventh, for her Sovereign-ruler has an especial interest for us, as his Consort, Queen Maud, was so long known among ourselves as the Princess Maud, the daughter of King Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra. Her marriage with Prince Charles forged a new link between England and Denmark, and now the English Royal Family is connected with a new dynasty in the Scandinavian Peninsula. The King of the Hellenes, who is still with us, is also united with our Royal House and with the new Royal House of Norway by a tie of blood, and we can well understand how the pleasure of his visit to these shores is enhanced by the occurrence of this interesting family event, in the rejoicings over which he is able to take a part. We should like to feel assured that the close kinship of so many Sovereigns tended to the peace of the world.
Church Times, 25th November 1905
News In Brief: Norwegian Nature
Little snow in the mountains
Although most parts of Norway had a white Christmas, there were reports of unusually little snow in the Norwegian mountains. There was still enough snow on the ground for good skiing conditions but snow depths were recorded as being ‘considerably’ less than normal.
Aftenposten, 22nd December 2005
WNS member Ebba Lovering has reported that heavy snow has now fallen in Oslo during February.
Glad Tidings for Tree Growers
Due to a shortage of Christmas trees on the European continent, Norwegian fir tree producers enjoyed a profitable holiday season. The brisk demand this season is expected to continue for at least eight more years. After years of over-production, Norwegian forest owners and tree growers seem only too glad to step in and fill the demand.
Aftenposten, 22nd November 2005
Angry Moose Chases Joggers in Woods
An angry and aggressive moose has been chasing residents of Molde, mostly when they are out jogging in the woods on the edge of the residential neighbourhood. The female moose has two calves that she is keen to protect. Everyone has been advised to show respect, and retreat if they meet a moose!
Aftenposten, 8th November 2005
More Whaling in 2006
The Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs has decided to increase the quota by 250 on the allowed hunting of minke whales in 2006. Next year’s cull will total 1,052 whales. The increase is due to the government’s desire to regulate the population.
Aftenposten, November 2005
News in Brief: Norwegian Heritage & Culture
Munch Robbery update
Norwegian prosecutors have handed down six indictments in connection with the theft of two of Edvard Munch’s most famous paintings, Scream and Madonna. The paintings were stolen from the walls of Oslo’s Munch Museum in August 2004. One of the men charged has told police that the two paintings were later packed in a blanket and hidden in a bus parked on his farm. Neither painting has been recovered.
Aftenposten, 19th December 2005
Tourists damage Stave Churches
Tourists are destroying Norway’s stave church in Eidsborg by stealing parts of the structure for souvenirs. Wooden pegs have been stolen from the stave and holes are now starting to appear in the structure. Other stave churches have also been affected, particularly those that have less traffic. Norway’s stave churches are designated cultural landmarks and protected by national law.
Aftenposten, 2nd January 2006
Stave Churches: Between 1100 and 1300 some 1,000 wooden stave churches were built in Norway. Today fewer than 30 remain. While archaeologists have found proof that stave churches were built all over northern Europe, they have only been preserved in southern Norway. They gained a place in the public consciousness in the 1800s through the romantic paintings of Johannes Flintoe and J.C. Dahl.
Architects then began registering and surveying churches that were under threat of being torn down. In 1844, enthusiasts founded the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Norwegian Monuments to care for significant old buildings. Today the society maintains eight stave churches. Four others are situated in open-air museums.
Astrup Art Collection donated to Bergen
Thanks to Signe and Jon Chr. Brynildsen’s interest in the artist Nikolai Astrup, their considerable collection of his valuable work has been donated to the Bergen Art Museum, and will be on display from 2007. In the meantime, the collection will be shown elsewhere in Norway. Their gift consists of 55 oils, 94 woodcuts, 52 pencil, pen and charcoal drawings and numerous juvenile works. This will be the largest donation of the work of a single artist since Edvard Munch gave his own collection to the City of Oslo in the 1930s. The Astrup Gallery in Jolster (Astrupunet) will work closely with the Bergen Art Museum.
The Royal Norwegian Embassy’s site is an excellent source of information about Norwegian culture: Www.norway.org.uk
Norwegian Anglophilia Contributed by Stan Royden
Thanks to Stan Royden, a member of the Scandinavian Church in Liverpool, who submitted this short excerpt from a book by Johan Borgen.
Johan Borgen was born in Oslo into a well-to-do family. He was a novelist, essayist, short story writer, journalist, and dramatist. He became one of the most important 20th century short story writers of Norway. This whole book is about his dogs and this episode, which must have happened in the 1930s, stars an Airedale terrier of some distinction.
This lady was exceptionally meticulous. She also had a distinctive tail. We did not have it docked, so it ended up looking rather like an ostrich feather…
Once it accompanied us on a hike along the Sognefjord. At the end of it we boarded a local boat bound for Bergen. All our fellow passengers were English, or British. After a while an elderly couple came over and asked us about our dog. It must have been the tail, but they were far too polite to mention that. The husband took out his wallet and showed us a picture. Of a dog, of course. Another Airedale. My, my, what a small world. Others joined in with photos of their own dogs. Soon the whole company had forgotten the mountains and the fjord. It was patently obvious that meeting our dog had triggered serious homesickness. They cosseted her, tempted her with all kinds of treats. She needed no encouragement; swanned around, strutted her stuff. Then suddenly her attitude changed: discomfort. Distress even. The cause was obvious; she needed a wee. Great concern among the passengers. ‘SSSSSSSSSS,’ they said in chorus. No effect. Down to the very bowels of the vessel with water lapping everywhere. But this was a very meticulous lady. Any luck? No, sorry.
By the time Bergen hove into view, every single passenger was tripping from one foot to the other. I always knew the English liked their dogs, but still … Our boat was late. All our fellow passengers were due to catch the ‘Venus’ bound for Newcastle. ‘Venus’ was tied up further along, tooting impatiently – time to leave! At last we tied up and the gangplank was lowered. Now everyone could rush off and catch the ‘Venus’. We had underestimated our English friends. ‘The dog‚ get the dog off first!‚’ they roared in unison. And we were literally pushed off down the gangplank with the dog. As soon as she hit the shore, she let it go. Time passed and more time passed. ‘Venus’ hooted and hooted. No ambassador in the whole world has a bladder with a greater capacity. And the passengers? They stood on the decks and cheered. Is it any wonder I have a certain enthusiasm for the English?
News in Brief: News from London & Cardiff
News from St. Olav’s Church, London
At St. Olav’s Church, Rotherhithe, Torbjorn Holt has taken over from Helge Pettersson. On October 29″, the Church collaborated with the Swedish Church in London to hold a service of thanksgiving at Southwark Cathedral to mark the Centenary of the dissolution of the Union. The Church held its annual bazaar on 18-19th November.
The 4th number of Månedsbladet, the newsletter of St. Olavs Church, has a biographical article about Bjarne Lindstrom, the newly appointed Norwegian Ambassador to London; and a description of the action taken by St. Olav’s staff to be in readiness after the crisis of 7th July, with reminders of the role played by the seamen’s churches in the wake of the tsunami and the New Orleans disaster.
Translations from Månedsbladet by Elizabeth Rokkan
Roald Dahl Centre for Cardiff
The Roald Dahl Visitor Centre is earmarked for Cardiff and is being supported by the local council. Roald Dahl, of course, was born in Cardiff to Norwegian parents. The Roald Dahl Arts Project Trust, which has the author’s widow, Felicity, as its president, is behind a feasibility study into the project. Cardiff Council has now approached the developer of the International Sports Village about the possibility of incorporating the Roald Dahl Centre within the site.
Western Mail, November 2005
New Year’s Honours
Congratulations to Welsh Norwegian Society member Margaret Butler, who has been recognised in the New Year’s Honours List, for services to tourism. Margaret has spent the last 17 years showing visitors around the Welsh capital as an official tour guide. Margaret will now take a trip to the palace to receive her MBE.
Recommended Reading
Audrey Beatty, writing in the Anglo-Norse Review, recommends the following book: Per Egi Hegge and Leif Arne Ulland, Det var i 1905, published by Andersen and Butenschgn, Oslo 2004. An illustrated story of Norwegian Independence.
Learning and Practising Norwegian
Those with Internet links can now join Norskklassen. It is a Yahoo Group and there is no membership charge.
10th anniversary of the opening of the Red Cross Nordic United World College, Flekke, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Contributed by Alan Hall
The Røde Kors Nordisk United World College celebrated the 10″ anniversary of its opening on 30th September 2005. H.M. Queen Sonja (the College’s Patron), three Government Ministers, the Chairman of the Storting’s Education Committee, and members of the Storting from Sogn og Fjordane were among the 450 people present.
Congratulations and good wishes for the future were expressed by the guests, and the students presented a splendid cultural programme, with participants from overall the world. The guests themselves took part in various activities.
The College is the youngest but one of ten United World Colleges. The oldest, the United World College of the Atlantic at St Donat’s Castle here in Wales, opened in 1962, and has had strong Norwegian representation and support from its beginning.
The 16-19-year-old students in the Colleges (from more than 80 different countries) study for the International Baccalaureate Examination (which is recognised worldwide as a university entrance qualification and has its Examinations Office in St Mellon’s.
All the Colleges require students to participate in community service and international activities; in the Nordic UWC the particular emphases are on Nordic studies, the environment, resource management, democracy and human rights.
The student intake is financed by scholarships, and no student is turned away for lack of financial support. The Nordic UWC is a cooperative project supported by the governments of all Nordic countries.
PRESSEMELDNG
Røde Kors Nordisk United World College feirar sitt 10 års jubileum den 30. september 2005.
Røde Kors Nordisk United World College er ei nordisk samarbeidsprosjekt med 200 studentar frå ca 80 land. 1/3 frå Norden, 1/3 frå industrialiserte land, 1/3 frå utviklingsland og konfliktområde.
RKNUWC gjev eksamen i International Baccalauriate og fokuserer på nordiske studier, demokrati, miljø, ressursforvalting og menneskerettar.
Programmet varer frå kl 1000 til ca kl 1600.
Festen blir pa RKNUWC i Fjaler, med 450 deltakarar fra inn- og utland.
HM. Dronning Sonja skulens hage beskyttar kjem til feiringa.
Utviklingsminister Hilde Frafjord Johnson, Kulturminister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland og Fiskeriminister/nordisk samarbeidsminister Svein Ludvigsen. Formann i Stortingets undervisningskomité Rolf Reikvam og stortingsrepr. fra Sogn og Fjordane Utviklingsminister Hilde Frafjord Johnson held det faglege innlegg. Det vert mange helsingar og sjølvsagt eit flott kulturprogramm ved eigne studentar og tilsette frå heile verda.
Gjestene får i løpet av dagen synfaringar til ulike aktivitetar og program på skolen.
Festprogrammet i auditoriet tek til kl 1215 og varer til kl 1420. Lett servering på føremiddagen og ein meir formell lunch fra kl 1430.
Vi minner om akkreditering hos fylkesmannen.
Media far delta under heile dagens program – eige presseprogram for HM Dronning Sonja er utarbeidt og administrert av fylkesmannen.
A regular report from the Norwegian Church Cultural Centre by Karen Allen
Looking back at Norway 2005 Norway 2005 & Cardiff 2005: A Celebration of Two Centenaries
The following list gives an overview of the activities that linked Wales and Norway in 2005:
The Norwegian Church Cultural Centre presented a series of concerts, celebrating the music of Norway and other Scandinavian countries.
The concerts were recorded and we hope to produce a commemorative CD that will raise funds for the centre.
We were proud to host a talk by the legendary Norwegian World War II hero Joachim Rønneberg, the leader of the daring raid on the heavy water plant in Telemark.
A world-beating Norwegian-Welsh partnership visited the Norwegian Church at the start of this year’s Wales Rally GB in September: Former World Rally Champion Petter Solberg and his Welsh co-driver Phil Mills brought their Subaru car to the Norwegian Church for a photocall.
The Viking Influence, a group exhibition of artwork based on the theme of the Vikings was shown at the Norwegian Church in October, including work by David Petersen (Wales’ most famous Viking}).
The Norwegian Church hosted the second annual Scandinavian Dance & Music Weekend, with tutors from Norway and Sweden.
The Welsh Norwegian Society organised events throughout the year, including a special centenary celebration of Norway’s Constitution Day on 17th May (Syttende Mai). The Society also celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2005.
Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan marked the 10th anniversary of the Schools Exchange Programme that brings a group of sixth form pupils from Hordaland to study here each year.
The pupils of Porthcawl Primary School had been working on a school project about Norway during 2004 and the results were exhibited at the Norwegian Church Cultural Centre in February 2009.
Cwmni Dawns Werin Caerdydd invited a traditional dance group from Hordaland to join them for the annual Gwyl Ifan Festival in June 2005.
Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen hosted a touring exhibition of Norwegian art and craft.
Highlights of Norway 2005
Heroes of Telemark: Joachim Rønneberg’s visit to Cardiff
Undoubtedly the highlight of the Norwegian Church’s series of events to mark the Norwegian centenary was the visit by Joachim Rønneberg, who gave a talk about his role in the daring raid on the heavy water plant in Telemark during World War 2. All those who attended the talk will have been struck by his quiet, unassuming manner.
I think it is fitting to quote from the closing pages of ‘The Real Heroes of Telemark’ by Ray Mears, who brilliantly sums up the modesty of all who took part in the raid:
‘In all the dozens of interviews they have given on the subject, not once do you read or hear any of them talking up their achievement. On the contrary, they give the impression that what they achieved was perfectly unremarkable. To read their accounts of what happened or listen to them talk about it today is to be given a lesson in modesty and understatement. Their humility, as a group and as individuals, astonishes. The eleven men involved in the Vemork raid are heroes in Norway, but you get sharply rebuked if you dare suggest that to them … Whether that is the way of the Norwegian and/or the soldier, or whether their modesty is something peculiar to them, is difficult to say.’
Ray Mears’ book ‘The Real Heroes of Telemark’ is available in paperback and an abridged version, read by Ray Mears, is available on audio cassette and CD.
Other highlights of Norway 2005
Norwegian Royal Visit: In October, I was extremely honoured to be invited to the Norwegian Ambassador’s residence in Kensington, London, to represent the Norwegian Church Cultural Centre at a reception in the presence of King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway. The event was part of their official Royal Visit to the UK to mark Norway’s centenary.
In December I was invited to attend the Norwegian Voices concert at the Barbican, an evening of contemporary Norwegian music concert organised by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in partnership with Serious, as a climax to the year of Norway 2005 centenary celebrations.
I arrived at the Barbican feeling jaded after driving right across the centre of London – the first time I’d ever attempted this, and in the dark too! – and even though the concert was over four hours long, I left feeling totally uplifted and enthused with a love of Norway.
The line-up for the concert featured many of Norway’s top contemporary musicians and although a chance to see so many outstanding musicians in a single concert programme doesn’t come around every day, I was proud to note that four of the musicians taking part had previously appeared at the Norwegian Church.
Norwegian Voices was hosted by Fiona Talkington, who presents Radio 3’s Late Junction and is a well-known exponent of Norwegian contemporary music. It was recorded for broadcast on Radio 3’s Late Junction in January 2006.
Joachim & Liv Ranneberg celebrated their wedding anniversary during their stay in Cardiff.
Looking ahead to 2006
In 2005, I wrote about a proposal for a history project inspired by Trygve Sgrvaag’s Shetland Bus project, and I’m pleased to say that the funding is in place. We can now begin the process of collecting information and old photographs from people in Wales and in Norway who have memories of visiting the Norwegian Seamen’s Churches in Cardiff and Swansea.
Images
Above: The stunningly simple Norway 2005 logo that was widely used to mark the centenary year.
Below left: Nils Økland, Hardanger fiddler, who performed at the Norwegian Church twice during 2005; in February with Mike Adcock, and in September as part of the Christian Wallumred Quartet.
Below right: Karl Seglem, saxophonist and goat horn player, who appeared at the Norwegian Church with his Quartet in July 2005. Karl also took part in the Norwegian Voices concert at the Barbican Centre in December, an event that brought the official Norway 2005 celebrations in the UK to a close.
Welsh Norwegian Society 