October 09 Newsletter
This newsletter gives details of coming events, the usual comings and goings, two very interesting articles, and other member's contributions.
WELSH SOCIETY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
'NEWYDDION'
OCTOBER 2009
I was out shopping the other day, and found a very attractive calendar from Wales, which I hastily bought. For the benefit of those who have not already arranged for their calendars from home, there are several bookshops and retail outlets that are stocking calendars from Cymru.
Fay Hall (Editor)
Dinner at Bentley T.A.F.E. - Wednesday 28th October 6.30pm. Cost $25 per head.
If you have not already booked your places for this - please contact Secretary Bryce Henley on 9307 9848, and let Treasurer Tony Hall have your money! The menu offers a good choice of items, and we are looking forward to a happy evening together.
Wednesday 18 November - our Bring and Buy Night: Remember - your unwanted items may turn into somebody's else's treasure, so please support our effort to raise funds for a good cause.
Wednesday 16 December - our Christmas Party Night. Do be sure to come along and join the fun! Bring Christmas goodies for supper.
Our Annual Competitions - Hugh Bevan tells us that entries are wanted for the following three categories - Short Story (between 700 and 3,000 words, in English or Welsh. A poem. A Limerick. Please use a pen name.
The first four lines of the limerick are given below. You have to come up with a winning fifth line that must rhyme with lines 1 and 2.
"There was a young lady name Rose
Who had a large wart on her nose.
When she had it removed
Her appearance improved
-------------------------------------------------------"
Winners will be announced at the St. David's Day Dinner, 1 March 2010. Please hand in your entries to Hugh either at the November or December meeting. Good luck!
Welsh Church News - Book Launch at Trinity Church.
The book recounting the story of the Welsh Church in Western Australia and the part played by Welsh pioneers in this State is to be launched on Sunday 22nd November at 3pm, at Trinity Church. All are welcome to attend this important event.
Members' News.
President Sylvia Williams visited Enid Jenkinson hospital in September, taking flowers and a card from the Welsh Society. We all wish Enid a complete and speedy recovery.
Maureen Monckton is busy with a house move - she says "What a nightmare!" If anyone wants her new address please please let us know.
Outing to Mandurah - March 2010
A block booking is being made for 20 people on a Saturday in late March, with Mandurah Ferry Cruises, byo lunch or have fish and chips. Cost $20 per head. As most of you are pensioners or seniors, rail travel from Perth to Mandurah is free on weekends. Bus connection from the railway station to the Ferry Cruise boarding site is direct, free and frequent. Keep an eye out for further news.
Medi Jones-Roberts, President of the Melbourne Welsh Society and his family visited Perth in July/August. Unfortunately, they were unable to come to our July Wednesday night meeting, but attended the Gymanfa Ganu, where they received a warm welcome. However President Sylvia's daughter, MLA Liz Behjat, kindly invited the Committee with Medi and his family to lunch at Parliament House on Wednesday 22nd July. This was greatly appreciated and Secretary Bryce has sent a letter of thanks to her.
Thank you Diana - for organizing such an excellent Quiz Night on 16 September. Everyone enjoyed themselves. The questions were interesting and fun.
Family History Drama
I know there are quite a few of us in the Society doing family history research. Olwen Henley has sent me a note, which I quote:
"Whilst doing some family research, I was given this letter from my grandfather's cousin, Bob Lloyd, to his mother in Wales and wondered if it may make interesting reading in our newsletter."
Olwyn notes that the letter was written in Welsh and she has translated it into English.
A LETTER FROM ONE OF THE CREW OF THE- SHIP -CAERNARFON CASTLE'
This is a letter received by Mrs Lloyd , Sevastopol, Harlech, from her son Robert one of the crew of the unfortunate ship the 'Caernarfon Castle' which went on fire in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The crew had to abandon the stricken ship in two open boats, the Captain with 15 men in one and the mate with 12 men in the other. They had a terrible time in the boats for 24 days, with little food and water and for 5 days without any water at all.
Western Australia, February 28th 1907.
My dear mother,
I am writing to you so that you know that we have arrived on land safely, after a horrendous experience we are slowly recovering from our ordeal.
Our feet are the worst we cannot walk properly as yet but are very well looked after, we only have to ask and we receive it, everything is free.
I have prayed often for our salvation after leaving our ship and being saved on the eleventh hour none of us would have survived another day.
When we reached land none of us could stand let alone walk, when we all reached the shore safely the boat we were on just broke up.
One of the lads spotted a lighthouse a short distance away, so the three strongest of us I was one dragged our way towards the lighthouse to find help and food and water but I had only gone a short distance I came across a small stream gushing out of a rock at least we found some much wanted water the first drink we had for five days, thank God for this miracle, we also managed to give the young lad that was with us some water as he was very poorly.
We continued towards the lighthouse but after a short distance the lighthouse keeper and one of the crew riding a horse came towards us.
The first thing the lighthouse keeper asked me after finding out if we were all right was whether I was Welsh and what part of Wales I came from I replied that I was from Harlech then he asked me if I was related to Owen, auntie Jane's son again I replied that I was, this was indeed amazing. The result of all these questions was that later on my other cousin Harry (I think this was Owen's brother another of auntie Janes' sons that had settled in Australia some years before) and his brother in law came to see me and now I am staying with Harry at his home so I am welled cared for by Harry and his family I am very lucky finding my own cousin having been in such a predicament over the last month.
Unfortunately I cannot write very well as my hands are heavily bandaged but between Harry and myself we shall write to you with more news my feet are very painful but I am improving every day, Keep your spirits up mum This is a very short letter,
From your son Robert.
THIS WAS INDEED AN UNIQUE OCCASION FOR ROBERT LLOYD TO HAVE BEEN THROWN FROM THE HOSTILE SEA TO LAND SAFELY NEAR THE HOME OF HIS COUSIN.
Members' contributions:
Thank you to very much to those who give me items. Here is a gem!
Just a Tap on the Shoulder
A passenger in a taxi leaned over to ask the driver a question and tapped him on the shoulder. The driver screamed, lost control of the cab, nearly hit a bus, drove up over the curb, and stopped just inches from a large plate glass window. For a few moments everything was silent in the cab, and then the still shaking driver said I'm sorry, but you scared the daylights out of me". The frightened passenger apologized to the driver and said he didn't realize a mere tap on the shoulder could frighten him so much. The driver replied, "No, no, I'm sorry, it's entirely my fault. Today is my first day driving a cab. I've been driving a hearse for the last 25 years."
Editor's note: Apologies to the contributor -I did not make a note of your name!
Offa's Dyke
Thanks to John Roberts for this very interesting article:-
Offa's Dyke, the man-made genetic barrier, the remains of which exist after about 1500 years, following roughly the present Wales/England border. It was built to separate the two kingdoms and said to keep away the so called "ethnically cleansed" Celts from what was then Mercia (now England). The construction stretched a distance of 169 miles (270 km). In some places it was sixty feet high with a twelve feet wide dyke, to extend the whole of the boundary between the kingdom of Mercia and Wales.
The writer has had the privilege of walking, to follow many miles of this man made historical creation. One of his children was born just a few metres to the east of that artificial boundary that still meanders over humps and bumps and hollows of countryside which in many parts of its ramble, covers sometimes most difficult terrain, even on foot. The remains of the Dyke are still being shown on modern Ordnance Survey maps, although in some parts references have disappeared altogether through the ravages of time, I expect.
However, not long ago a report appeared in "The New Scientist" that might interest you people who are attracted by such things, viz, that the "Y" chromosomes of men, yes MEN, born on the Welsh side, that is the western side of Offa's Dyke, differed from those of men living on the eastern - the England side. This fact apparently remains unchanged to this day. The report goes on to say, these chromosomes pass relatively unaltered from father to son.
According to my dictionary, the "Y" chromosome in humans is associated with the sex discrimination of a pair of chromosomes. It is described as a rod-like portion of the chromatin of a cell-nucleus performing an important part of mitotic cell-division, and in the transmission of hereditary characters.
The other chromosome of the pair is the "X" Z(occurring paired in the female zygot and cell, whilst in the male, one alone exists). Isn't that fascinating. Bet you didn't know that! J.R.