DECEMBER 2012/JANUARY 2013
www.celtic-connection.com
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Welsh Society of Vancouver: A Mulled Wine Evening
Support for Welsh independence lags behind Scotland
By EIFION WILLIAMS
Scotland will hold a referendum on independence in the fall of 2014 and some political commentators have suggested that if it succeeds, the Welsh might well follow the Scots out of the United Kingdom.
Others say this is highly unlikely. The Scottish National Party (SNP) has an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament and is therefore in a position to push the referendum.
On the other hand, the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru has only 11 of 60 seats in the Welsh National Assembly and is little inclined at present to push for complete independence from the UK.
The Scottish Parliament also has greater powers than the Welsh Assembly, including the power of taxation.
A recent review by a House of Commons commission recommended that the Assembly be given similar power to raise taxes but the proposal has been greeted with little enthusiasm by Welsh political leaders.
First Minister Carwyn Jones, responding to the report, said, "Wales cannot afford to raise a large proportion of its own revenues."
Wales has closer economic ties with England and a weaker overall economy than Scotland.
Last month The Economist magazine, in an article entitled 'The Reluctant Dragon', laid out the reasons why Wales is less than enthusiastic about independence, with only 10 percent of the people consistently supporting it.
Most of these reasons are economic. Shortly after The Economist article appeared, it was announced that over 500 workers were to be laid off at the Tata Steelworks in Port Talbot, which one worker called "devastating."
FIRST MINISTER Carwyn Jones
Such blows, combined with the stagnating economies in the former coalmining valleys, make independence an unlikely option.
A quarter of the Welsh workforce is employed by the government, while tourism and the service industries take up most of the rest. This is an economy crying out for foreign investment.
The fact is that the country's north is dependent on the economy of the English north-west, while the south has a natural link with Bristol and London. Cardiff, in fact, has experienced a mini boom in recent years.
The Economist, in a rather gratuitous comment, said, "Welshness is more cultural than political: rugby and the Welsh language defines it more than any institution."
The large non-Welsh-speaking majority in the country and fans of high-flying football clubs Swansea City and Cardiff City might take issue with this observation.
Pink star shines for missing April Jones
CARDIFF - A special pink star for missing Welsh five-year-old April Jones has been lit in the town of Machynlleth - as the girl's heartbroken parents released new pictures of her two months after she went missing.
Parents Coral and Paul say they hope the new pictures will help in some way towards finding her.
The release of the photographs came as the pink star was lit as part of the town's Christmas lights. Rotary Club bosses, organisers of the display, said the star was put up to reflect the fact April was still missing this Christmas.
The spokeswoman said all the white light bulbs will be on a timer to go off at about 12:30 AM each night but April's pink star will remain on throughout the night.
April, whose favourite colour is pink, was last seen near her home in Machynlleth on October 1.
Dyfed-Powys police say they continue to have 16 search teams out every Monday to Friday looking for April. The operation includes about 130 officers
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A NEW photo of little April Jones released by her parents.
from Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, as well as Wales.
Local man Mark Bridger has been charged with April's murder, child abduction and perverting the course of justice.
By EIFION WILLIAMS
VANCOUVER - A large gathering of early Christmas celebrants enjoyed a mulled wine evening at the Cambrian Hall on December 1.
Host Neville Thomas kept events moving in his usual exuberant fashion, keeping the atmosphere warm and congenial and the audience increasingly happy as the night progressed.
The traditional mulled wine toast to the season (with a non-alcoholic alternative for drivers) gave everyone an opportunity to mix and wish friends and families a merry Christmas.
The highlight of the evening was the reading of Dylan Thomas's^ Child's Christmas in Wales, a combined effort by Liz and Don Murray, Anne Williams, Paul Lievesley and John and Tora Anderson.
This timeless reminiscence of childhood was, as always, greeted with great amusement and appreciation by the audience.
Others who participated with readings during the evening were Eifion Williams, Lynn Owens-Whalen and Kathy Thomas, who was also largely responsible for setting up the programme.
PHOTO: Kathy Thomas
NEVILLE THOMAS
PHOTO: Anne Williams
HEATHER DAVIES and Pierre Blais enjoyed their roles as bar supervisors during the evening.
PHOTO: Anne Williams
DR. IRENE Evans was a speaker at the mulled wine evening at the Cambrian Hall.
There were also frequent carol singing breaks, including a hilarious audience participation version of The Twelve Days of Christmas and versions of Silent Night in English, Welsh and German, capping a very gemutlich evening for all those present.
The next Welsh Society Christmas events were the annual bilingual carol service at 11 AM on Sunday, December 9, followed by the children's Christmas party at 2 PM.
The annual Christmas dinner will be held on Saturday, December 15 at the Cambrian Hall. The soloist will be Richard Williams, with accompanist Roger Parton. Richard is the artistic director of Opera Pro Cantanti, Canada's only repertory opera company.
Information on the dinner can be obtained from Gaynor Evans at (604) 271 -3134 or by e-mail: fgevans@telus.net.
Wales floods: Margaret Hughes, 91, drowned inquest told
CARDIFF -The family of a 91-year-old woman who died during flooding in St. Asaph, Denbighshire, in North Wales has described her as a loving grandmother.
Margaret Hughes, who had been due to celebrate her 92nd birthday on November 29, two days after she was found in her flooded home. A postmortem examination has given a provisional cause of her death as drowning.
Her family said they were devastated by her unexpected death. They described her as very active and "strong willed with a real sense of humour and fun", and said she had been looking forward to Christmas.
In St. Asaph, hundreds of properties were deluged when the River Elwy burst its banks overnight on November 27.
On the Glasdir estate, the flood water has subsided but has left behind many homes with bare concrete floors stripped of carpets and furniture.
Residents are now asking whether enough safeguards were put in place to stop flooding when the estate was built. Ten years ago there were no houses on the site and some are still being built.
The Welsh Government-owned land was bought by developer Taylor
MARGARET HUGHES
Wimpey, which says it was told flood defences were already on site. Planning permission for the estate was given by Denbighshire council.
Resident Jade Whewell said, "I think everybody has rallied around but I think everybody who lives on the estate wants some answers to what has happened."
The council and the Welsh Government have both promised they will be looking into what went wrong, as well as trying to help people clean up.
HUNDREDS of people were told to leave their homes as severe flood warnings - categorised as a danger to life - were declared for two stretches of the River Elwy at St. Asaph in North Wales on November 27.