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www.celtic-connection.com
DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
Hugely popular Welsh classes at Cambrian Hall
By ElFlON WILLIAMS
VANCOUVER - There is a common belief among non-Welsh speakers that Welsh is a difficult language to learn because of its grammatical quirks, consonant mutations and pronunciations that challenge the most determined linguists.
This has not deterred a group of keen learners from joining Antone Minard's Welsh classes at the Cambrian Hall.
The classes have been held for the past two years and have proved to be quite popular, with participants ranging from beginners to those wishing to brush up their command of the language.
All are agreed that Antone is an excellent instructor who makes the learning sessions productive, interesting and painless.
The lessons are structured so that at each session learners can practice conversational Welsh, learn a few points of grammar and become familiar with short passages of literary Welsh. Each session ends with a social hour and question period.
Participant David Llewelyn Williams says, "Antone's evenings are not just lessons but are cultural events that we all enjoy and the mood in the class after a session has everyone smiling and in good humour."
David goes on to say that Antone's classes have actually brought new members to the Welsh Society. He is "a unique resource" says David.
Many, but not all, of the learners were born in Wales and view the language as part of their heritage. Gaynor Evans, Welsh Society treasurer, says her grandmother was the last member of her family to speak Welsh.
Gaynor is now an enthusiastic learner, as is her husband Gwyn, whose parents were Welsh-speaking. Gaynor and Gwyn grew up in English-speaking areas of Glamorganshire where Welsh speakers were few and far between.
Instructor Antone Minard learned Welsh at the University of California and continued his study of the language at Aberystwyth University, Wales.
Dr. Minard received his doctorate in Folklore and Mythology from the University of California, specializing in Celtic Studies.
In addition to his Welsh classes, he has given presentations at the Cambrian Hall on Celtic culture and mythology.
Antone currently lectures in the Humanities Department at SFU and in the Classical and Near Eastern and Religious Studies Department at UBC.
The Welsh classes are held every two weeks in the Cambrian Hall, beginning at 7:30 PM, and new learners are welcome to attend.
The lessons are structured so that missing a lesson will not affect one's ability to follow the next lesson. Antone will even offer an introductory mini-lesson for new members at 7 PM, before the regular class time.
Further information on the Cambrian Hall Welsh classes can be found on the Vancouver Welsh Society's website www. welshsociety. com.
DR. ANTONE Minard, popular instructor at Cambrian Hall Welsh lessons.
ACTOR Russell Roberts (L) will entertain audiences with A Child's Christmas in Wales. Liana Savard (centre) (Orpheus Choir) and Jonathan Quick (R) (VWMC) will conduct their choirs at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby next March 1.
WELSH SOCIETY OF VANCOUVER
A busy Christmas season with some annual favourites
DAVID LLEWELYN WILLIAMS
VANCOUVER - The annual Christmas dinner will be held at the Cambrian Hall on Saturday, December 14 with featured soloist Suzann Kingston.
Suzann is a regular performer with Opera Pro Cantanti, the repertory opera company that rehearses and performs regularly at the Cambrian Hall.
A well-attended bilingual Christmas carol service was held at the Hall on Sunday morning, December 8, followed in the afternoon by the annual Children's Christmas Party.
The Welsh Society's own Cambrian Circle Singers will perform at Van Dusen Gardens at 7:30 PM on December 15 as part of the Gardens' Festival ofLights.
One of the most popular annual events at the Cambrian Hall is the reading of Dylan Thomas's A Child s Christmas in Wales, presented in recent years by the Dylan Thomas Circle. This year the sponsorship is shared by the Welsh Society and will be presented on two evenings, December 12 and 13.
A Child's Christmas in Wales will again be performed by popular actor Russell Roberts, who is well-known to many for his acting performances at Bard on
By
EIFION WILLIAMS
the Beach. Russell will be accompanied by Brian Tate, Colleen Winton and Gower Roberts.
If the Cambrian Hall event is sold out, the performance will also be presented on December 14 and 16 at Ryerson United Church on West 45th Avenue as part of the Vancouver Chamber Choir's presentation of A Dylan Thomas Christmas: A Child's Christmas in Wales.
A regular Welsh event in the New Year will be the St. Dwynwen's Day celebration on January 25 in the Red Dragon.
St. Dwynwen was a Fifth Century Celtic princess whose tragic love story led to her becoming popular in Wales as the patron saint of friendship and love.
The Welsh Society has also drawn up plans for a St. David's Day Concert next March 1 at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby, featuring the Van-
couver Welsh Men's Choir and the Vancouver Orpheus Male Choir. Opera Pro Cantanti's Suzann Kingston will again be the guest soloist.
It's a rare occasion when these two popular male choirs perform together and their joint concerts have proved to be very popular with choral music enthusiasts in the past.
At the March 1 concert the two choirs will offer an eclectic mix of classical choruses, spirituals, folk songs and show tunes.
The VWMC has just completed a successful series of Christmas concerts in the Lower Mainland.
The choir's final Christmas performance will be on December 13 at the Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver, which will also feature the Argyle School Choir.
Last month the Vancouver Orpheus Male Choir had a highly successful series of concerts in the Fraser Valley and the southern interior on the theme of Remembrance, concluding with a Remembrance Day concert in Chilliwack.
Further information on the Michael J. Fox Theatre concert will be posted in the coming weeks on the choirs' websites: www.vwmc.ca, www.vancouverorpheus.org, and on the Vancouver Welsh Society's website www. welshsociety. com.
More UK Storm Chaos
LONDON - Hundreds of people across Britain mopped up flooded homes on Friday, December 6 after a powerful storm that scoured northern Europe with hurricane-force gusts kicked up the biggest tidal surge in 60 years, swamping stretches of shoreline.
The rising seas prompted evacuations along the eastern English coast, with 1,400 properties flooded and at least a half-dozen communities at great risk of exceptionally high tides and large waves.
In London, the Thames Barrier - a series of huge metal plates that can be raised across the entire river - closed for a second time in as many days to protect the city from the surge.
Environment Secretary OwenPaterson said there would be "exceptionally high tides" on Friday and Saturday, though they were not expected to reach Thursday 's levels, when water swamped sea-
HURRICANE-FORCE winds in Britain - strong winds around the harbour at Whitehaven, Cumbria, on December 5 send extreme waves crashing into the shore.
side promenades and flooded homes.
In the town of Hemsby in eastern England, several houses fell into the sea as waves eroded cliffs.
Britain's Environment Agency said that sea levels late Thursday in some areas exceeded those ina 1953 flood in which hundreds died.
But flood defences and evacuation warnings meant that only two people were killed in storm-related accidents.
EMERGENCY workers attend the scene of a fatal truck accident as a lorry sits on top of two cars near Bathgate, Scotland, after strong winds hit the region early Thursday, December 5.
The Environment Agency (EA) has described the tidal surge as "the most serious" for more than 60 years.
The EA said its flood defences protected at least 800,000 homes and it had issued warnings to 120,000 properties.
About 1,400 homes were flooded, including 300 in Boston, Lincolnshire, one
of the worst affected areas, the EA said.
Two people are known to have died in the storms, including lorry driver Robert Dellow (54) from Lowestoft in Suffolk. His vehicle overturned in West Lothian, Scotland.
An 83-year-old man was hit by a falling tree in Retford, Nottinghamshire.