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An Dùbhlachd 2006 - December 2006
Welcome to the 2006 - 2007 season
Burns Supper
The first event of the new season is our Burns Supper on 27 January at St Columba's, Pont Street. Our main speaker will be Barry Gardiner, MP for Brent North. Barry comes from Glasgow. Notable points in his career came in 1992 when he became the youngest mayor of Cambridge in 800 years, and in 1997 when he defeated the veteran Conservative MP Rhodes Boyson to take the Brent North seat.
On 24 February we are delighted to welcome Sìneag MacIntyre, winner of the Ladies' Traditional Gold Medal at this year's Royal National Mod. Further details will be available soon.
It was good to see such an excellent turnout for the AGM on 11 November. We celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Schools Competition and thanked our Chief, Joyce Seymour-Chalk, for her hard work, dedication and inspiration over these years. (You can read Joyce's report of her visit to the Mod as a guest of An Comunn Gàidhealach below.)
On 9 September the Society hosted a meeting with Allan Campbell, Chief Executive of Bòrd na Gàidhlig, to present the draft National Plan for Gaelic. This was very well-attended, showing once again a high level of interest and concern for the language in London and the south. Allan expressed his thanks to the Society for organising such a useful meeting, with a higher attendance than any of the meetings held in Scotland.
Our Chief, Joyce Seymour-Chalk, writes: Dates of future Society events are 27 January, 24 February (see above for both), 21 April, 9 June, 22 September. Further information will be circulated in due course.
The Highlands and Islands Society of London will be holding their 'Taste of Burns' cèilidh dance on 20 January at Cecil Sharp House. For further information please contact Mary Ann MacLeod at maml@yahoo.co.uk or on 020 8480 9280.
Mod Medallist and long-term friend of the Society, Sandra Leigh (nee Thompson), will entertain with Burns' and Gaelic songs. A 'blas Gàidhealach' will also be evident on the menu, with Stornoway haggis and Uist salmon. Please reserve your tickets early using the booking form.
A recurring theme of the AGM was the need for members and friends to support events and offer feedback and ideas in order to maintain the viability of the Society.The resignation of Council member Alan Lane was noted with regret. Murdoch Graham was elected to the Council. All other officers and members were re-elected.
Rona Lightfoot, our guest for the evening, has been described as 'a cèilidh personified'. Her latest London audience would undoubtedly agree. Rona led the afternoon workshop and later entertained with stories and songs with such skill and infectious enthusiasm that it was very hard to let her go when the time came.
A very lively cèilidh also included songs from Kathy Kennedy, Linn Phipps, Anna MacRae, Sandy Jones, Eòghann Pinkerton and our former President, Iain MacLeod. We are grateful to all of them for their constant support.
"The 25th anniversary of the Schools Competition had a record number of entries, which is very encouraging for the language. The highlight for me was an invitation to the Royal National Mod in Dunoon as a guest of An Comunn Gàidhealach. On Tuesday 17 October a reception was held in a room in Queen's Hall. It was attended by, among others, the President of An Comunn Gàidhealach, Mr Angus MacDonald and the Chief Executive, Mr Calum Iain MacLeod, Mr Allan Campbell, Chief Executive of Bòrd na Gàidhlig and Miss Mary Ann MacInnes of Seirbheis nam Meadhanan Gàidhlig. The stars of the evening were, of course, some of our 2006 winners, who were also competing in the Mod. I was introduced by Allan Campbell, who spoke very warmly of Comunn Gàidhlig Lunnainn and its important contribution to the cause of Gaelic. He also mentioned his own association with our Society and his support for the competition. In my reply I passed on kindest good wishes from our President, Mrs Chrissie MacLeod Webb, and the Council. A short prizegiving ceremony followed. (Photos are available on the Stornoway Gazette website.)
This pleasant event gave me a chance to meet the pupils and their teachers and relatives. Although some of the winners were not at the Mod I hope to see them when I visit their schools at a later date. For the whole of the Mod week a large photographic display of our competition winners since 1992 was shown. It was a source of great interest to all who saw it. Two of our previous winners took top prizes at the Mod - Colin G Morrison the Silver Medal and Kirsteen MacDonald the Gold
Medal.
Without entrants there would be no competition. Without teachers there would be no entrants. Mòran taing dhuibh uile. 'Smath a rinn sibh thairis na bliadhnachan.
I shall always remember the Dunoon Mod 2006 for the warmth of the welcome and the kindness I received. Heartfelt thanks to all involved with the visit, and particularly to Calum Iain and Allan. My friend and fellow Council member Mrs Dorothy Gordon, who was also there, agrees that we both enjoyed a good Mod with a high standard of competition, especially amongst the youngsters."
We look forward to seeing you in the New Year.
Nollaig Chridheil agus Bliadhna Mhath Ur dhuibh uile!
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page last updated 31/01/07