Videos Included
Anglesey Bard William Richard Roberts
On the heels of attending a Noson Lawen in NYC at the Welsh Congregational Church in Manhattan last October, the thought came to us to hold our own Welsh Society’s Noson Lawen. In lieu of a parlor, where our Welsh ancestors would have gathered to entertain themselves, we gathered at the Tap House Grille in West Springfield, with Welsh flag “flying” and voices ready.
Once we had dined together on that Sunday evening, May 20th, member Jason Ellsworth read from a list of presenters while we each rose to sing, read and recite: a poem “Mai ym Môn” (May in Anglesey) was written by Lowri’s cousin’s grandfather, Anglesey Bard William Richard Roberts (Bardic name: Gwilym Dona) (see the photo above) and read aloud by Lowri in English, then by Susan Davies Sit in Welsh; we sang a rousing “Delilah” with Straford Wild on guitar, and Jason sang his own composition “Country Road” and playing the keyboard; a personal Welsh story by Glyn of the funny trials and tribulations of his and Magdalen’s wedding night hotel; Warren Morgan read a Welsh joke plus a poem by none other than Dylan Thomas, whom we were celebrating that evening; a reading by Magdalen titled “The Princes of Wales and Carrot Soup”; a poem titled “The Shepard of Cwm Dyli” read by Ed Brown, husband of Beth Roberts Brown whose ancestors lived at the Cwm Dyli farm; Susan Jenkins Meers read “In Passing” by Brian Harris; and we ended with a heartfelt ‘Calon Lân” led by Straford. Hiraeth abounded as we listened to our Mother tongue, with music and language swirling around us.
By Susan Davies Sit
VIDEOS from the Noson Lawen
