THANK YOU to everyone who made our Annual General Meeting on Sunday such an enjoyable event – not least Hayley from kos.deg, who brought an amazing selection of Scandinavian-themed rolls and pastries for us to enjoy. Sorry to those who couldn’t make it! We’ll arrange a group outing to see Hayley at her stall in Newport Market before long.
It was especially good to see many new faces – and young ones, at that. We have a diverse membership, spanning generations and geographies – and reflecting very different connections to Norway and Wales – from family ties to short visits that ended up changing lives. The society aims to be a place, as we say in the motto, “for all those with an interest in Norway” to meet, catch up, build wider connections, and to promote Norwegian language, heritage and culture in Wales.
Our keynote celebrations, on Constitution Day on 17 May, and the Festival of Light and Friendship in December, continue to go from strength to strength. Each has drawn upwards of 150 people over the past couple of years and are now a fixed point in the calendar for many.
However, the way that people interact nowadays is different to how it was just a few years ago. Of course, the pandemic forced all of us to take more of our activities online, for good and bad. Live, in-person events haven’t been as popular since then. The internet has brought Norwegian TV, radio, films and conversations right into our homes, even into our pockets. We no longer need to schlepp out to a church hall in the driving rain to engage with Norwegian culture. People are getting busier – or their children are! All in all, it is harder to get people in a room together without a very clear purpose.
That is why it is so exciting to welcome to the church this weekend Ellie Sømme, whose father was a leading member of the Norwegian resistance to the Nazi occupation of Norway during World War 2. His extraordinary escape from certain execution by the Nazis is told on his book, Another Man’s Shoes. The title refers to the shoes Sven Sømme was given by a farmer so that he could escape through the mountains to freedom. Ellie will bring along artefacts from that time and copies of the book her father wrote to her talks at 1 and 4 pm on Saturday, 26 September. Admission is free and open to all.
We’re always delighted to support others who promote Norwegian culture and heritage in Wales. Look at last winter’s production of Romjul – a Norwegian themed play put on by Theatr na nÓg in close collaboration with the staff at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre. We started working with the Welsh National Opera to bring the singers to an event at the church based around the theme of longing for home, a notion ingrained in both Welsh and Norwegian culture. Sadly, funding cuts at WNO put paid to that.
Looking ahead to this autumn, we’ve been happy to promote the Welsh Football Association’s welcome for Norwegian fans attending the Nations League game in Cardiff on 1 October. We’re looking forward to seeing Alt for Norge, a film about a legendary Norwegian national team manager, in Cardiff the night before. And of course, we’re excited to promote and attend the conference on Scandinavian history and heritage that the church’s heritage officer, Thomas Husøy, is putting on in October.
We will shortly welcome a group of students from the Norwegian School in London who will be on a field trip to Cardiff. They didn’t know the extent of Norwegian ties in south Wales until they made contact. We look forward to enlightening them and learning about the Norwegian community in London, and hopefully building stronger ties for the future. We’re also marking the 30th anniversary of the link between Cardiff and Vale College and students in Bergen. In our discussions at the AGM, we recognised that we could and should renew and strengthen our ties with the Norwegian Embassy, the Seamen’s Mission, and other groups such as the Scottish Norwegian Society. We’d like to see more Norwegian artists, performers and speakers who come to the UK to make the short extra trip to see us here in Wales.
We recognise the need to plan further ahead – not always easy on limited resources – so that you can put dates in your busy diaries.
If you’ve got an idea for an event we can put on – at the Norwegian Church or elsewhere – please let us know and let’s try to make it a reality. And if you can help us make it happen, so much the better. We’re a small society and welcome all the help we can get.
There’s more in our autumn newsletter. You can download it here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10oLL2FG9PapAkiMS8kmnn6BhUaBtGYqi/view?usp=sharing
It’s that time of year: We’ll shortly be sending out membership renewals for 2026-27. £10 a year helps to cover the costs of the website, printed programmes at our events, occasional catering, and live music.
Stay in touch: As well as our website and Facebook pages, we’re trying to reach people where they are, so we’ll be taking to Instagram soon. We’ll be here: https://www.instagram.com/welshnorwegian/
We’ve also set up a WhatsApp group so we can communicate quickly with everyone – and you can talk amongst yourselves. Join the group by clicking or scanning the QR code below:
Note there is a separate group for Norwegian speakers in Wales. Ask for details if you wish to join!
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Your committee
Welsh Norwegian Society 