| Gaelic news and events from Gaidhlig aig deas. Can anyone help with John's
survey?
The Gaidhlig aig deas newsletter for an Giblean (April) has just come out. To
get on the mailing list for this, contact:
John Angus Macleod
5 Berkeley Crescent
Lydney
Gloucestershire
England
GL15 5SH Tel: 0594 842750
John Angus Macleod is particularly keen to hear about any Gaelic orientated
groups outside Scotland. Would anyone reading this please send him details
of any activities they know of in their area along with notes of the groups
history, a contact name, and perhaps some anecdotes about personalities in
the group! It would be useful if you could mention my name, I'm trying to
persuade John Angus to go on the net and this would be useful evidence of
the value of such a venture!
The front page of Gaidhlig Aig Deas is bilingual, the rest is in English
only. The bilingual section this month talks about the changing attitudes
in the media, especially outside Scotland, towards Gaelic. Here's a small
extract.
John Angus writes:
Ann am paipear Cuimreach "Litrichean Laitheil an Iar" tha mi a' faicinn:-
Tha an t-ughdar, riochdaire aig B.B.C. a' sgrudadh programme mu Ghaidhlig
Albann a bha air an T.Bh. SC4 air an t-seachdain a chaidh. Tha e a' moladh
'an grunnan beag pongail' a ghlac le'n dicheall #9 millean o'n Riaghaltas
airson Gaidhlig air T.Bh. Tha e a' leantainn:-
"Tha rudeiginn domhain neo-fhaicsinneach a' tachairt ann an intinn Alba. A
reir coltais tha Gaidhlig a' togail drochaid that a' bhearn eadar Galldachd
is Gaidhealtachd agus tha i comasach air na sgoltaidhean iomraiteach
a leasachadh."
So that it isn't too easy for learners to read an English translation of
the above, I won't post a translation just now! If anyone would like one,
could they mail me and I'll type it in. Alternatively, you can write to
John Angus for the whole article in Gaidhlig and English!
There are also articles about:
The history of An Comunn Gaidhealach (celebrating it's centenary this year)
1991 is the year of Gaelic as a result. John Angus thinks the 1990's should
be the decade of Gaelic!
There is a full page dedicated to Gaelic activities in the Manchester area.
There is a branch of An Comunn Gaidhealach there, a Gaelic music group,
regular ceilidhs, dancing, piping etc.
Contact details for this:
The President, Mr. W.J. Brigham, 17 South Meade, Timperley, Nr Altrincham.
Tel: 061 973 6684. He's a fluent Gaelic speaker.
There are Gaelic classes in Manchester too, run by Prof. John Dumbreck.
He's the Professor of Russian at Manchester University.
His address is: 1 Aysgarth Avenue, Gatley, Cheshire. Tel: 061 428 8828
There are also Gaelic classes in the following areas:
London (weekly),
Cardiff (weekly),
Cambridge (weekly),
Abergavenny (weekend course),
Canterbury (one day seminar - 7-Sep-91),
Wansfell (near London - weekend courses)
Gaelic courses:
There's a Correspondence course run from the National Extension College in
Cambridge.
Contact: The National Extension College (attention of Mrs Eastwood)
18 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 2HN
Tel: 0223 316644. The course is called 'Gaidhlig bheo'
Future:
There may be future Gaelic one-day seminars in:
Southampton, Southport & Rugby
The next Gaelic church service in London will be on Sun, 12-May at 3:30pm
Venue: Crown Court church of Scotland, Russell St, Covent Garden
Further details from: Mr Norman MacLeod F.S.A. (Scot), 37 King Street,
Covent Garden, London WC2E 8JS. Tel: 071 240 3718
The London Gaelic society will be holding it's open day on Saturday the
1st of June. This is the biggest Gaelic event of the year in England and
Wales and is well worth attending. This year is of special interest as
it is the year of Gaelic, as well as the centenary of the London Gaelic
choir, who will be performing. Also performing are Gaelic learners who
put on a play. The guest star will be the clarsach player Mary Ann
Kennedy, accompanied by her mother-in-law, Margaret Kirkwood who is a
music teacher and composer.
The open day will be at:
Clerkenwell Conference Centre, Clerkenwell Green. Nearest Tube - Farringdon.
Afternoon programme from 1:45, evening reception (dinner) from 6:30pm
For more details, contact the Chief of the Society at:
John Nicolson, 17 Prestwick Drive, Bishops' Stortford, Hertfordshire CM23 5ER
Tel: 0279 655623
Firtree publishing of Fort William (An Gearasdan) have produced a very
attractive Gaelic calendar (Am Miosachan Gaidhealach) which has 12 pictures
from the Highlands and Islands. Their 92 calendar is already out and will
be on sale at the Open Day. The calendar normally retails at 3 pounds 99p
+ 1 pound P&P, however if 25 are ordered then we can get a reduction and a
donation to Gaelic funds. Please contact John Angus if you're interested in
a copy.
The Cambridge Gaelic Society (run by John Angus's daughter!) - Comunn
Gaidhealch a' Chambridge - is running a Gaelic day school on Sun, 19th May.
Venue: The Carpenter Hall, Victoria Street, Cambridge
At: 11am till 5:30pm ish (coffee from 10:30)
Activities will be lead by John Angus Macleod, winner of the Bardic Crown
at the Mod in 1971, and will include:
Conversation, Reading, Aural Comprehension, and a few songs!
Learners at all levels are welcome.
Please bring a Gaelic dictionary, and a copy of John Angus' book:
'Criomagan iomadh-dhathte' if you have one.
The cost is 6 pounds 50p which includes coffee,tea and a buffet lunch with
wine. This cost may vary slightly.
If you want to go, contact:
Marion Macleod
6 Gilbert Close
Cambridge
CB4 3HR
0223 323084 (evenings)
Before 30th April
Please send your name, address, phone number, level of Gaelic (beginner/
intermediate/advanced) and whether you would like train/coach timetables sent.
Please enclose a cheque/postal order for 6.50
There may be some more Gaelic days planned at various venues around England -
watch this space!!
Craig
|
| A new magazine for Scottish Gaelic speakers/learners in the US
Article 1937 of soc.culture.celtic:
Newsgroups: soc.culture.celtic
From: [email protected] (Craig Cockburn)
Subject: New Gaelic/English magazine in the US
Reply-To: [email protected]
--
The Gaelic Echo
---------------
All,
I received the following message via the Gaelic-l bulletin
board recently and thought it might be of interest to readers
here. Please circulate this message to anyone who may be interested.
tapadh leibh,
Craig
------ Forwarded mail received on 17-MAY-1991 at 13:01:14 ------
From: DECWRL::"GAELIC-L%[email protected]"
"GAELIC Language Bulletin Board"
To: Craig Cockburn <SYSTEM::cockburn>
Subj: Scottish Gaelic Bilingual Magazine in the US
This information is for those of you on the list who are in North
America and are interested in Scottish Gaelic. Some of you may have
this information already, but I got a leaflet from Donaidh
Macdhomhnaill announcing the start of a new Scottish Bi-lingual
Quarterly magazine.
Donaidh Macdhomhnaill is from Lewis and Gaidhlig is his first
language. He moved to California in 1983. He has decided to set up
this bilingual magazine because he has "a great desire to share his
passion for Gaelic".
The Gaelic Echo:
The magazine will be about 15 pages in each language, and it will be
possible to purchase a tape with the Gaelic content read slowly on one
side, and naturally on the other side, finishing off with a song sung
in Gaelic.
As for content:
Anns an `Echo' bithidh naidheachdan intinneach, litrichen bho
luch-leughaidh, cuspairean cloinne, sanasan mu chuspairean Ga\idhlig,
o\ran anns gach `issue', do\ighean deasachaidh airson biadh,
toimhseachan Ga\idhlig, agus iomadach rud eile a thig an a\irde mar
a bhios na raithean agus na bliadhnachan a'dol seachad.
translation:
The Echo will contain interesting news items, letters from readers,
children's topics, adverts about Gaelic matters, a song in every
issue, methods for preparing food, a Gaelic puzzle, and many other
things that will come up as the seasons and the years go by.
Four issues per calender year (text, tape and post included) cost
$29.50 in US funds. The first issue will be mailed in May 1991.
Checks payable to Donnie Macdonald
Donnie Macdonald also invites letters from organisers of Gaelic events
in the US, and information on regional Gaelic groups.
Address:
Donnie Macdonald
PO Box 10578,
Burbank, CA 91510-0578
USA
Gillian Catriona
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
Date: Thu, 16 May 91 14:09:55 PDT
Sender: GAELIC Language Bulletin Board <GAELIC-L%[email protected]>
From: Gillian Ramchand <gcram%[email protected]>
|
| All,
Just a quick word to say that the Gaelic class in Reading at
the weekend was a great sucess. About 20 people turned up, and there
was some interest in getting a regular evening class going. This
probably won't happen, as I don't think there are any fluent speakers
nearby, but I'm going to try and find one. At the least, however, I
think the day school will be repeated, perhaps in a few months time.
The Reading Irish Centre tell me they have found an Irish teacher in
the area, and that she is qualified to run exams too. This means that
Irish classes will probably be starting in the Autumn. Contact the
Irish centre (Gerry O'Carroll - tel: 0734 393096) for more details.
As the Reading Evening post said: "Suas leis a' Gh�idhlig" !
Some other Gaelic news:
The director of the main Gaelic campaigning group, Comunn na G�idhlig,
has resigned and they're currently looking for a replacement. It was
Iain Aonghas Mac Aoidh (John Angus MacKay) who ran the successful
campaign which led to �9.5M being allocated for Gaelic television
and the amount of Gaelic on Scottish Television tripling.
Craig.
|
| Here is the news from Gaidhlig Aig Deas, an organisation set up to provide
information about Gaelic classes and societies in England and Wales. The
chairman is John Angus Macleod, a winner of the Bardic Crown at the
National Mod and Vice President of the London Gaelic Society, the
oldest Gaelic society in the world. I have typed in the bilingual
section of the current issue. For more information about G.A.D., or
to go on the mailing list, contact John Angus Macleod at:
5 Berkeley Crescent, Lydney, Gloucestershire, England, GL15 5SH
Tel: 0594 842750. The current cost is 3 pounds a year (four issues)
Sorry about the lack of accents !
tsiaraidh an dra\sda,
Craig
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
July 1991 An t-Iuchar 1991
'Cromadh
ar
sreath-cinn
le
naire
(Bowing our headlines in shame)
Nach e a tha ioranta ann an uine cho goirid an deidh an aireamh mu
dheireadh de'n chuairtlitir aig G.A.D. nuair bha sinn ag aithris nan
sreathan-cinn misneachail a bha ar canan a' tarraing anns na paipearean-
naidheachd agus leabhraichean eile taobh a muigh Albainn, sinn a nis a' cur
aghaidh air toradh, mor-thubaisdeach ar reir coltais, de'n mhor chall-airgid
aig a' Bhanca Eadarnaiseanta ud.
(Is it not ironic that so soon after the last issue of G.A.D. newsletter
commented on the encouraging headlines that our language was attracting
in the press and in outer publications outwith Scotland, we are now faced
with the apparently disastrous toll of the massive financial debacle of
that international bank.)
Chan eil da bhliadhna air ais o'n bha an duilleag seo fo Shreath-cinn
anabarrach mu'n tabhartas mor airgid a thug an Riaghaltas airson
programman Gaidhlig air T.V. Anns na tri na ceithir seachdainean mu
dheireadh tha na paipearan is na buill-naidheachd uile air a bhi liostagadh
an call a dh'fhuiling daoine air leth; companaidhean agus aireamh de
Ughdarrasan Ionadail, a chuir an cuid airgid an tasgadh aig BCCI. B'ann
le oillt a thainig an t-eolas gun robh na h-Eileanan an Iar, duthaich-
cridhe na Gaidhlig; dachaidh moran de chairdean is luchd-eolais
leughadairean na cuairtlitir seo, an deidh Tri millean not thar fhichead,
darna leth maileid na bliadhna, a chur anns a' Bhanca, air sgath mir
beag de riadh na bha ri fhaotainn an airean eile.
(Less than two years ago this leaflet had a marvellous banner headline
of the huge grant which the Government made for Gaelic programming on
T.V. Over the last three to four weeks, the newspapers and all the
media have catalogued the losses caused to individuals, businesses
and quite a number of Local Authorities, who had put monies on deposit
with the BCCI. It was a great shock to learn that the Western Isles,
Heartland of Gaelic, home of many relatives and friends of readers of
this newsletter, had no less than 23 million pounds, half its Annual
Budget, placed in the bank, for a sake of a fraction of a percent
larger interest than could be obtained elsewhere.)
Co-dhiubh, seach gu bheil caochladh obair-rannsachaidh is cnusachaidh
air bonn cha bhiodh e iomchaidh tarraing air na ceistean a dh'fheumar
fioghneachd ach air ar son-ne a tha a' feuchainn ri taic a thoirt do
ar canan dualach, agus cuideachadh do na dealasaich lionmhor a
choinnicheas sinn, a' stri ri bhi ag ionnsachaidh canan a tha fhathast
beo anns an duthaich seo, chan urrainn ach gun cuir an naidheachd moran
dragh oirnn. Bha Comhairle nan Eilean daonnan gle fhialaidh ann an taic
ris a' Ghaidhlig, a litreachas, ceol, ealdhain agus thar uile ann am
foghlum. Gu nadurra, sin an duil a bhiodh anainn ann an cearn a
dh'ainmich mi mar duthaich-cridhe na Gaidhlig. Aig an am seo, chan
fhaicear gum bi cothrom sam bith air barrachd air mir beag beag de'n
23 millean not fhaighinn air ais, agus mar sin, ge b'e deon na
Comhairle thig orra amharc gu geur air an tabhartasan.
(However, in view of the several Inquiries and investigations it is
not appropriate to comment on the questions which have been asked
but for those of us who try to support our native tongue and to
assist the many enthusiasts we meet trying to learn a still-living
language of this country, the news cannot but cause a deal of worry.
The Western Isles Council has always been very very generous in its
support for Gaelic, its literature, music, arts and above all, its
education. Naturally, this is what one would expect in the area I
called The Heartland of Gaelic. At the moment there does not appear
to be any possibility of recovering more than a tiny fraction of the
23 million pounds, so, will all the will in the world, the Council
will have to look ever so carefully at its donations.)
Anns na laithean seo de mhor-chunnraidhean nam milleanan agus eadhon
nam billeanan not, cha bhiodh 23 millean not ach mar smalan beag ann
an gnothaichean iomadh eagrachadh, ach anns an Ughdarras bheag, ioma-
runach ris an abair sinn Comhairle nan Eilean, is e a tha ann
mor-thubaisd da-rireadh.
(In these days of multi-million and multi-billion pound deals, 23
million pounds would be a little 'blip' in some organisations'
affairs, but to the small multi-purpose Local Authority we call
the Western Isles it is a catastrophe of huge dimensions.)
Chuala mi Ball-Comhairle ag radh air T.V. gun robh an gnothach mar
"sgig-chluich" nan Innse-Gall. Is e mo dhurachd nan toir seo
cothrom-dusgaidh do na seann bhuadhairan "Hielan" agus "Tiughdar".
(I heard a local Councillor on T.V. remark on the matter being a
"Hebridean farce". I sincerely hope that this does not give rise
to the old epithets of "Hielan" and "Teuchter".)
John Angus Macleod
|
|
Details of two ceilidhs coming up in the next few weeks:
Friday 6th March
Heston Catholic social club present 'A Scottish Ceilidh Dance'
In aid of charity (including the Gaelic society of London benevolent fund)
Featuring Scotland's top accordionist: John 'Ike' Carmichael
as well as pipers, dancers and singers.
Dancing from 8pm to 11:30pm, bar extension
Tickets 3 pounds. Tel Malcolm Sinclair on 081 570 0595 for tickets.
You may be able to get in without a ticket on the night, but I'm not sure.
Location: Pope John Centre, Eaton Avenue, Heston, Middx.
Saturday 28th March
The Highlands and Islands Society of London ceilidh 7:30-midnight
5 pounds for non members, 4 pounds for members
at Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1 (near Westminster Abbey)
see you there!
Craig
|