An exciting new Scandinavian-themed eatery has opened in south Wales – and we’ve asked them to provide some catering for our AGM, so if you come, you’ll get a chance to sample some Scandi delights.
Owner Hayley Broomfield set up “Kos deg” – roughly translated as “enjoy yourself” or “make yourself cosy” – in the beautifully restored Newport Market, where she’s serving freshly-baked waffles (including ones with cardamon and Norwegian brunost), cinnamon buns, croissants with Jarlsberg, and bagels with fillings of salmon, avocado, salami or cheese. Reviews are outstanding – our member Mark Hinge is already a firm fan.
Hayley told Wales 24/7: “I moved to Norway just before Covid and, because of lockdown, ended up staying for just over three years. The lifestyle was completely different – beautiful scenery, mountains and the water on your doorstep. People would finish work early on a Friday and head to family cabins for the weekend. I fell in love with the culture and started learning Norwegian baking traditions.”
Hayley is blogging about her Scandinavian food adventure on social media but she’s kindly agreed to tell us in person about her experiences in Norway, what drove her into hospitality sector, and her experiences in Wales, at the AGM. Another first-class reason to attend!
As you may know, the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay – the charity which manages the venue – is fortunate to have the services of a dedicated heritage officer.
Thomas Alexander Husøy-Ciaccia is building quite a reputation as a historian, both in Wales and in his native Norway, helping the church to win important funding to increase knowledge and understanding of the links between the two countries.
Remarkably, he has been able to organise an important conference, to be held at the church in October, to celebrate the rich history and heritage of Norway and Scandinavia in the British Isles. Made possible through the generous support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the conference marks the culmination of the Norwegian Church Heritage Research and Outreach Project.
We are promised fascinating talks from leading academics, researchers and heritage professionals covering everything from Viking heritage and maritime history to wartime stories, public history and the enduring connections between Norway and the UK.
All events take place at the Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Cardiff Bay, unless otherwise stated
Sun 20 Sept, 2.30 pm
Annual General Meeting of the society, with special guest Hayley Broomfield, founder of new Newport-based Scandinavian deli ‘Kos Deg’, who will also bring samples.
Students from Norwegian School in London visit Cardiff on a school trip.
Wed 30 Sep, 6.30 pm – The Canopi, Tudor Street
A screening of the film ‘Alt for Norge’ which recounts the remarkable story of Egil ‘Drillo’ Olsen, the football fanatic who gets to coach Norway’s national team in 1990 and ends up leading them on a fairytale winning streak that changes the country forever.
Come and hear Ellie tell her father’s amazing story in person at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay on Saturday 26 September at 1 or 4 pm. She’ll bring along a selection of historical artefacts and copies of her father’s book. The event is free and open to all.
The 17th May National Day celebrations in Cardiff this year had a special visitor: Ellie Sømme, the daughter of a Norwegian resistance fighter who narrowly escaped execution by the Nazi occupation forces by walking his way cross-country to Sweden, and thence to the UK where he went on to help found the Special Operations Executive.
ITV Wales News came to film the parade – and speak to Ellie, who told her father Sven’s amazing story.
You can watch the full 8-minute film here:
One man’s struggle to resist the Nazi occupation of his beloved country. This WW2 true story is about a brother’s execution, resistance fighters, snow covered mountains and a pair of shoes.
The film came about as a result of a remarkable chain of events that began when WNS member Anne Kirsti Rosnæs Kirby handed fellow member Mark Hinge a book while both were decorating the Christmas tree at the Norwegian Church last December.
The book, Another Man’s Shoes, is a gripping first-hand account of a Norwegian scientist’s escape from German custody during the Second World War after his arrest for spying.
Professor Sven Sømme worked under cover and recruited 90 other agents for the clandestine resistance movement named XU (X for ‘unknown’ and U for ‘undercover agent’). In 1944 he was arrested as a spy, escaped his captors and over two months, walked 200 miles through deep Norwegian winter snow, traversing freezing rivers and dodging the pursuing Gestapo to gain his eventual freedom into Sweden before continuing his journey to freedom and on arrival in Britain, his work with MI6 in London.
Sven Sømme. Family collection
Sven Sømme wrote the story of his escape just after the war. Sixty years later, his daughter Ellie set out on foot with her sister to retrace their father’s flight from Nazi-occupied Norway, meeting some of the people who helped him along the way. In an introduction in the book, she recounts the emotional moment when a pair of her father’s shoes, exchanged for mountain boots, were returned to her by one family who sheltered him along the way. She pays special tribute to her uncle Iacob, who was also arrested and later executed.
Mark, whose mother’s maiden name was Sømme and who had roots in Stavanger in the late 19th century, spotted a potential family connection. He went to meet Ellie at her home in Powys and encouraged interest in her father’s story at ITV Wales.
“I’m honoured to have helped, in a modest way, to make this short seven minute film. It was wonderfully produced by Hamish Auskerry.”
Mark and Juliet Hinge meet Ellie Sømme for the first time
Ellie Sømme joined the 17th May celebrations at the Norwegian Church this year and met many members – including Anne Kirsti, who had triggered the initial investigation by sharing Ellie’s book with Mark.
Ellie Sømme with Anne Kirsti, who triggered the chain that led to Ellie’s visit – and planned future event
Ellie has kindly agreed to return to Cardiff to share her father’s story in greater detail in two, one-hour talks (in English), starting at 1pm and also 4pm on Saturday 26th September, 2026.
She will bring the real WW2 artefacts belonging to her father, including postage stamps with microfilm hidden underneath. There will be a chance to buy Sven Sømme’s book, ‘Another Man’s Shoes’.
Timings for the annual Constitution Day parade and celebration in Cardiff have been confirmed as follows:
2.30pm Gather outside the Wales Millennium Centre, Roald Dahls Plass, Cardiff
2.45 pm Procession marches past the Senedd to the Norwegian Church
3.00 pm Welcome from Martin Price, chair of trustees of the Norwegian Church Cardiff Bay
Raising of the flag and singing of the National Anthem, Ja, vi elsker
3.15 pm Move inside the church for a traditional 17th May programme led by Torill Heavens of the Welsh Norwegian Society.
Laying of the wreath of remembrance.
3:45 pm End of official programme.
Everyone is welcome.
The Norsk café bar and terrace will be open until 6 pm for the sale of refreshments and Norwegian food items.
There will also be a very last chance to see the exhibition Vikings and Wales: Past and Presentin the upstairs gallery. Discover the history of the Vikings in medieval Wales and see how people engage with this heritage today, through modern reenactments and inclusive heathenry. The exhibition also features folk art and interactive experiences, including Viking Age board games.
Romjul – pronounced “rom-yool” – is the Norwegian word for the period between Christmas and the New Year. This year it is also the title of an exciting new theatre production, developed by the Welsh drama company Theatr na n’Og in collaboration with the Norwegian Church Arts Centre and supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It tells the story of two Norwegian sisters evacuated to Cardiff during WWII, who find themselves hiding from “trolls” in the little white church in the heart of Cardiff Docks.
It features traditional Norwegian stories and folk songs, and is an educational performance aimed at schools and families. Shows will last around 45 minutes.
There are public performances in English on the following dates:
Wednesday 3 December: 6:00pm
Saturday 6 December: 11:30am
Sunday 7 December: 11:30am (part of the Festival of Light celebrations)
We hope you’re enjoying the summer and, if you’re not already on holiday, have had, or are about to get, a pleasant break.
In our summer newsletter we’ve got news of our 30th birthday celebrations on Sunday 21 September between 2 and 5 pm. There’ll be a free concert of Norwegian music played by the church’s resident string quartet, coffee and cake, and a chance to see a brand-new exhibition telling the story of the Norwegians who found themselves in Cardiff and south Wales during World War Two. We’ll also hold our Annual General Meeting.
We’d love to hear from you if you’ve memories or memorabilia to share.
Other events planned for the coming months include a specially-written family theatre piece for Christmas performed by the innovative Welsh theatre group Theatr na n’Og.
If you’d prefer to have a printed copy, please send your postal address to contact@welshnorwegian.org, and we’ll print and send you one. (Not making paper copies the default any more saves us costs and many hours of labour – but we will always do it if that is what you want or need.)
Fortsatt god sommer – keep having a lovely summer!
The wonderful Vita String Quartet will be playing in the Norwegian Church again at 2 pm on Saturday 27 September when they celebrate all things Roald Dahl, with an afternoon concert of music inspired by his wonderful stories.
The quartet will be joined on stage by a fellow Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama student who will narrate extracts from his books to music.
They will be performing next to the font used to baptise Dahl: he was of course born to a wealthy Cardiff-based family of shipbrokers, and Dahl was educated at the Cathedral School in Llandaff. Did you know that the fearsome Mrs Trunchbull in Matilda was inspired by a sweetshop owner in Llandaff?
During the Second World War, Cardiff became a temporary home for many Norwegians — seafarers, refugees, and members of the resistance — who helped shape the city’s wartime history.
Now, a new exhibition aims to tell their story. It’s being organised by the heritage officer at the Norwegian Church in Cardiff Bay, Thomas Husøy, and his colleagues. They would love to hear stories of the Norwegian community from that time, and would especially welcome the chance to put on display photographs, artefacts, and archival material.
We will celebrate Norway’s National Day in Cardiff again this year and, as it will be a Saturday, we will do so in the morning, in the more typical Norwegian fashion.
Meet at the Wales Millennium Centre at 10.15 and join us on a red, white and blue procession to the Norwegian Church, where we’ll raise the flag, sing the national anthems, and lay a wreath to remember the fallen.
There’ll be music from the church’s resident string ensemble, the Vita Quartet, and Norwegian food and cakes and, of course, coffee, lots of it.
Upstairs in the gallery there will also be a fascinating new exhibition opening and curated by the Norwegian Church Arts Centre’s Heritage team – The Legacy of Prosperity: Exploring Cardiff Docks’ Industrial and Economic Heritage.
17 May is one of the high points of our social calendar and is a great chance to meet with other Norwegians, Norwegian speakers, and friends of Norwegian language and culture.
All are more than welcome! No tickets or booking are required.
Welsh Norwegian Society 