This year WNS invites members to celebrate Syttende Mai / May 17th on Zoom.
Please follow this LINK to sign up for free! If you are not a member this would be a good time to join for £5. More details below.
May 17th / Syttende mai
We are nearing the annual celebration of the Norwegian national day on May 17th – the main event for WNS. Traditionally it is a day of people coming together to celebrate Norway’s independence, history and core values, and reflect on what these mean to us.
This year a lot of traditions will be broken. 2020 will go down in history as the year the human world came to a unified halt – forcing people, institutions and businesses to cancel ordinary life and isolate in order to stop the spread of an invisible threat. Despite big changes and uncertainty for most, a lot of people have found a renewed appreciation of the things most dear to them. Connecting to other people is more important than ever and we have to be creative to meet up with the ones we love.
This year the WNS committee has to decided to run an experiment. We will host the May 17th celebrations for our members as a group meeting on Zoom. This is the only way we can get together without putting anyone at risk, and cancelling it all together is out of the question!
The event will start at 8PM, but we will open the Zoom meeting 15 minutes before to give everyone a chance to set up and connect. We are putting together a short programme for the evening and hope to see as many members join in as possible! For this to work we need everyone who can attend to sign up for free following this link: Eventbrite. In a week’s time we will email those who have signed up with instructions on how to join, along with a password. It will be a video conference, so feel free to dress up!
Would you like to make a contribution on the day? We would love to feature music, song, poetry and speeches. Maybe someone remembers celebrating May 17th as a child and can tell us what it meant to them? If you have any ideas or would like to join WNS for £5, please get in touch on contact@welshnorwegian.org.
For instructions on how to install and use Zoom, please follow this LINK.
Welsh Norwegian Society (WNS) works to promote continuing close links between Wales and Norway. The Society organises special events and social functions with a Norwegian flavour. It encourages participation in cultural skills and activities related to Norwegian heritage. Without member contributions the Society would not be able to offer the range of activities it does – Syttende Mai, Juletrefest and St Hans celebrations. As a paying member you will be invited to attend these events, gain access to a vast library of Norwegian literature and receive regular news updates. Anyone with an interest in any aspect of Norwegian life, culture or heritage will be warmly welcomed.
How is everyone with their #lockdown? How about a free #socialdistancing event tomorrow evening at 5.00pm to pass some time? Follow a story of two men and a dog in a lifeboat heading up the #Norwegian coast.
We are pleased to tell you that our WNS grant application to The Architectural Heritage Fund was successful! We have been awarded £4000 towards a feasibility study to explore the best way of saving the Norwegian Church for the community.
As we mentioned in the last newsletter, we must now start to raise the match funding – our target is to raise a further £4000. The WNS committee have set up a public fundraiser on the ‘GoFundMe’ online platform. The committee also agreed that we will donate £500 from WNS funds.
Individual donations
We are hoping that some WNS members and friends might also feel able to pledge individual donations towards the feasibility study. We appreciate these are challenging times and it won’t be possible for everyone, but you can still help by sharing the news of our appeal with others.
The feasibility study is the essential first step towards saving the Norwegian Church, so any donations, of whatever amount, will be contributing to a special project which will keep this unique building for its intended community use. The grant award from AHF is a great endorsement of the importance of this project.
Wishing you a Happy Easter / God Påske in spite of these challenging times. We hope that everyone is keeping safe and well with adequate food supplies and other essentials.
It would be great if we could use these WNS newsletters to keep each other company, and to share some of our news about things we’ve been doing to keep our spirits up, including activities with a Norwegian twist.
I’m pleased to be the guest writer of this first Lockdown Newsletter as it gives me the chance to share with you how much Mum (Mary) and I have been enjoying the daily YouTube videos by the well-known Norwegian knitting designers Arne and Carlos. They have been in quarantine in their home in Valdres, Norway for several weeks now, and have organised a daily Knitalong to support their family of fellow knitters across the world. Each day they issue a new design on their blog to knit (or crochet or cross-stitch) and later on they will show how to join the knitted squares. You don’t have to be a knitter to enjoy their videos – their understated humour and general outlook on life is just brilliant, and we often learn things about Norwegian life and culture. And, as Arne and Carlos frequently remind us: Remember, you may be isolated, but you are not alone!
You can find the Knitalong patterns and links to their Youtube channel on their blog https://arnecarlos.com/blog/
As Easter is here, Tyra has also suggested that we could share some stories about our Easter experiences past and present, including traditions from Norway.
So please keep in touch, and stay safe and well. We look forward to the time when we can all meet again for a coffee afternoon at the Norwegian Church!
NB. This newsletter will be posted to members who are not on email, so we make sure all WNS members are supported during the lockdown. If anyone would like any help with accessing the Arne and Carlos knitting patterns, please let us know. Or if you would just like a chat with a committee member in Norwegian (or English), don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Update on the Norwegian Church
Back in December, Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council, wrote to WNS indicating that they were willing to explore a Community Asset Transfer of the Norwegian Church. This would effectively mean transferring the charity to become independent again, as opposed to being under the wing of Cardiff Council. Members will be aware that WNS campaigned persistently during 2019 to save the Norwegian Church from the council’s plans to lease the building to a commercial tenant. So this message from Huw Thomas was long overdue.
However, we are required to show that any new arrangements for the Norwegian Church would be sustainable in the long run, and so we have to raise funds for a feasibility study. We anticipate this will cost approximately £8000. At the end of February, WNS submitted an application to the Architectural Heritage Fund for a grant which can provide up to 50% of the costs, i.e. £4000. So now we have to raise the remaining £4000. With the current national coronavirus emergency, there are many arts and cultural organisations in difficulties, and members of the WNS working group have been discussing how best to go about raising the necessary funds, especially with so many other good causes calling for public support. We would very much like to hear from anyone who has any thoughts and suggestions on this subject; not just the fundraising aspect, but about what we should do next.
In early March, we had a follow-up letter from Huw Thomas which seemed a bit more negative (before the coronavirus crisis had fully erupted). At the time we sent our reply, the full implications of coronavirus were becoming clear and we asked for WNS to be consulted about what will happen to the Norwegian Church during the crisis. We have not yet had a reply to this. We appreciate the council is under extreme pressure at the moment, but we are not prepared to stand by and let the Norwegian Church be a casualty of the crisis. The building is closed, of course, but it isn’t clear what costs the charity (Norwegian Church Preservation Trust) will still incur during the lockdown.
Unfortunately all Welsh Norwegian Society events between now and the end of May have been cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic. The Norwegian Church has closed until the end of May and the WNS committee has made the decision to cancel the coffee morning planned for 26th April and the 17th May celebrations as a result. We will keep you updated on future events as the situation develops.
Don’t forget coffee and cake with Welsh Norwegian Society this Sunday 8th March 2-4pm Norwegian Church We will have Norwegian books for exchange so if you like to read in Norwegian come and have a look of what we got. #EXCHANGE #readNorwegian
Celebrity chef Michela Chiappa is back with a brand new series – Michela Chiappa’s Welsh Family Cookbook – that sees her explore the social history of Wales through an array of delicious dishes.
Meeting families from diverse backgrounds from around Wales, Michela – previously seen in A Welsh-Italian Christmas with Michela Chiappa – uses their family recipes to help them reconnect with their roots.
In the final episode of Our Food, Our Family with Michela Chiappa, the Welsh-Italian cook is on Gower to meet and eat with a little-known community of Welsh-Norwegians.
At the heart of the community are the Blytt-Jordens – three generations of Welsh-Norwegians. They are among several families long-settled in the area who have only recently discovered each other but now regularly gather to chat in their first language and eat cake. Michela joins the Blytt-Jordens in the kitchen to whip up traditional Norwegian delicacies from a national pudding made with apples called tilsorte bondepiker to hot waffles and a pretty sponge cake with a Norwegian twist.
On tasting one of the more unusual dishes, a fermented fish dish, Michela says: “I wasn’t expecting that. You can really taste the salt and seasoning… Absolutely delicious. To think it’s 2 years old – I wouldn’t usually go there I have to say – but it’s very, very tasty!”
Michela’s guide is grandmother Sol Blytt-Jorden who was born in Bergen but came to the UK when she was 20. Sol’s son Scott was born and bred in the UK, and now he has children of his own, he’s keen to adopt some of his mother’s Norwegian traditions to pass down the next generation. The problem for Scott, a woods craftsman by trade, is that he’s better with a bandsaw than a whisk.
Can Michela and Sol turn him into a star turn in the kitchen by teaching him some delicious Scandinavian dishes?
To left, Tyra Oseng-Rees, Michela Chiappa, and Sol Blytt-Jordens
The people of Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland gave a million kroner to re-build the Norwegian seamen’s church in Cardiff. On December 15, the Church celebrated its 150-year anniversary.
Fantastic anniversary celebration: The Norwegian Church in Cardiff is 150 year.
Photographer: Bjarte Brask Eriksen
The people of Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland gave a million kroner to re-build the Norwegian seamen’s church in Cardiff. On December 15, the Church celebrated its 150-year anniversary.
“We have a strong, deep and enduring friendship between Cardiff and western Norway. The seamen’s church has a special place in our heart. This beautiful building is 150 years old, and the anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on our friendship. It’s important to celebrate. We have a common cultural heritage. We look forward to many more years as good friends”, said Dan De’Ath, Lord Mayor of the City and County of Cardiff, in his speech during the celebrations of the church.
Good friends from across the North Sea : Right Honorable Lord Mayor of the City and County of Cardiff, Councillor Dan De’ath with former Mayor Torill Selsvold Nyborg og Norwegian Politician for the christian Democratic Party.
Photo: Bjarte Brask Eriksen
A message from King Harald
King Harald sent a greeting to the for the occasion, which the county Mayor Pål Kårbø gave the Lord Mayor of Cardiff to be hung up in the church. The greeting read: “I send my best greetings to all who are gathered on the occasion of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the seamen’s church in Cardiff. Harald R.”
Pål Kårbø presenting the greeting from the Norwegian kin Harald IV helsinga frå Kongen to the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Dan De’Ath.
Photo: Bjarte Brask Eriksen
Popular home for Norwegians
The church full during the celebrations, both with Norwegian and Welsh people. Notable people in attendance included the Ministerial Advisor at the Norwegian embassy in London, Vibeke Rysst-Jensen. The priest at the Seamen’s Church in London, Torbjørn Holt, held the same church service as when the church, which was built in 1869, was consecrated on 16th December that same year.
“The church has been a popular home for all Norwegians who have come to Cardiff over the last 150 years. The church is the symbol of the friendship between Norway and Cardiff. We have a unique friendship,” said Roy Noble, presenter with the BBC, who told the story of both the friendship and the church, a history that has also been broadcast on the channel.
Participants in the celebration of the Norwegian Church: County Deputy Chairperson Pål Kårbø (t.l.), Tyra Oseng-Rees (Chair of Welsh Norwegian Society), Hordaland County Council Director for Education Bjørn Lyngedal, Project leader Terje Inderhaug, Vibeke Rysst-Jensen, Depity Head of Mission, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Hordaland County Council Johnny Stiansen and former Mayor of Hordaland Torill Selsvold Nyborg.
Photo: Bjarte Brask Eriksen
Norwegian ships responsible for two thirds of coal freight
Norwegian seafarers first came to Cardiff with timber. Later they would transport coal and iron. Cardiff was the capital of coal in the United Kingdom and two thirds of the coal export was done by Norwegian ships. Around 1960 the coal export declined, and the use of the church deteriorated. It was dismantled but stored and taken care of for the modernization and development of the port. During the 1980s, there was heavy pressure to have it rebuilt. A new plot, centrally located in the port, was provided, but there was not enough money for the reconstruction.
The Chruch is the symbol of the friendship between Norway and Wales . We have a unique friendship, says Roy Noble from BBC radio Wales. Espen Selvik compered the celebration excellent both with music and speeches.
Photo: Bjarte Brask Eriksen
A gift of one million kroner
The then county governor of Sogn og Fjordane, Ingvald Ulveseth, took the initiative to provide a public gift from Western Norway, to rebuild the church. The then county mayors, Julius Fure in Sogn og Fjordane and Ole Dramdal in Hordaland, liked the idea. Thus, the two county municipalities, now to become one, joined together to raise money. In total, one million kroner was collected as a public gift, from what is now Vestland county. Combined with money raised locally in Cardiff, our seamen’s church was rebuilt and opened by Princess Märtha Louise on April 7, 1992.
We have a deep and long lasting friendshop says Ken Pool, Head of Economic Development at Cardiff Council which is being thanked by Pål Kårbø.
Photo: Bjarte Brask Eriksen
Friendship is the key to success
Ken Poole, Head of Economic Development at Cardiff City Council, has a strong relationship with the church and Norway. “We have a strong friendship that has been around for a long time. This friendship is the key to Cardiff’s continued success. The city is built on trade and exports with great help from Norwegian seafarers. I remember many from my young days. They provided economic benefits to Cardiff. We are a tolerant and friendly city. The church symbolises friendship. It is important to me and the city. Although the church has changed, it is part of our legacy. We have a deep and lasting friendship. Long live Hordaland,” he said.
Lord Mayor of Cardiff, with Pål Kårbø, positioning the greeting from King Harald iV from Norway on the wall in the Norwegian Church.
Photo: Bjarte Brask Eriksen
Many links with Cardiff
County Mayor Pål Kårbø highlighted the special friendship between Hordaland and Cardiff, but also with Sogn and Fjordane, which will now become a combined western region with Hordaland.
“We have created many links over the years with Cardiff. We have had many projects together such as cultural heritage, economic development, food festivals, education and learning. We have a lot in common and a lot to share. It is great to learn from each other and enrich our cultural life through collaboration and creating new jobs together. I am confident that our friendship will go from strength to strength,” said the county mayor.
Will become Vestland
Kårbø pointed out that Hordaland and Sogn and Fjordane will merge to form a new combined county of Vestland from the start of the year.
“We must work hard to create new traditions and build new culture and identity. It is good to know that the Church Rebuilding Committee was a collaboration between our two counties, which will now become a new region. So the new Vestland has a historical responsibility for the restoration of the Norwegian church which has become a cultural centre. I am optimistic for our future friendship,” said county deputy mayor Pål Kårbø.
The stage is set for the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Church this Sunday, December 15, and we are really looking forward to it!
Although the event is now fully booked, there is a brilliant anniversary exhibition in the Dahl Gallery – called A Little Piece of Norway in Wales – which is open to everyone daily from 10.30am to 4pm until December 16.
The exhibition displays 150 years of history in pictures and words, containing personal stories of people closely connected to the church and WNS, and traditional Norwegian artefacts and household items kindly on loan from WNS members.
There will also be opportunities to view the exhibition throughout the day on December 15 for those who are lucky enough to have secured a space.
Thanks to Inger Elisabeth Meyer Counsellor, Royal Norwegian Embassy who represented His Excellency, The Norwegian Ambassador Wegger Christian Strømmen, Councillor Rev. Tom Sverre Tomren from Hordaland Fylkeskommune and The Right Honourable The Lord Mayor of Cardiff & Lady Mayoress, Councillor Dan De’Ath to make this event truly special.
Welsh Norwegian Society 