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News from the Celtic League:

Books I’m trying to divest myself of them - then Paul Moulton at MTTV pops up interviewing Steve Rodan (President of Tynwald) about a bursary for young people to attend the UN in Geneva and of I go - not to Geneva!

On my bookshelf is a tome purchased two decades ago and read by me only once its about Seán Lester, ‘The Last Secretary General’ of the League of Nations, I dig it out.

Predictably much of the English press and their servile followers have been squealing with indignation at the decision for children starting school in the Western Isles to be taught in Gaelic, unless their parents opt-out. Until now parents had to opt in to Gaelic-medium education (GME) on the islands, where lessons in English was the default. The truth is that the history of English rule in the Celtic lands has always had the design to make the Celtic people less Celtic. Part of this process has been their centuries old policies of destroying the language.

The Second Severn Crossing (Welsh: Ail Groesfan Hafren) is a road  bridge over the River Severn (Welsh: Afon Hafren)  which rises between England and Wales. The bridge marks the lower limit of the River Severn and the start of the Severn Estuary. It flows into the Bristol Channel and then into the Celtic Sea and the wider Atlantic Ocean. The name Severn is thought to derive from a Celtic original name (Welsh: Hafren; Old Welsh: Habren). Habren was a Celtic Princess and the name was later Latinized into the name Sabrina.

Robert Burns was born in the scottish village of  Alloway (Scottish Gaelic Allmhaigh) on January 25, 1759. The eldest of the seven children of  William Burnes (1721–1784), a tenant farmer from Dunnottar in the Mearns, and Agnes Broun (1732–1820), the daughter of a Kirkoswald tenant farmer. His parents ensured that their son received a relatively good education.  He died at the age of 37 on 21 July 1796 and his Mausoleum is at St Michael’s churchyard in Dumfries (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Phris). Throughout his life he was a practising poet and wrote many poems, lyrics and other pieces.

From Nation Cymru:

We hear a lot about why Welsh should move aside and allow English to take over. But why should it? The Welsh language is vastly superior to English, as we will now demonstrate! And, in fact, we think the English would be much better off cognitively, financially and intellectually if they cast off the yoke of their own dismal tongue and embraced the ancient Celtic language of Britain.

1.) English doesn’t have enough vowels

News From The Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas yr Iaith):

" A group of protestors occupied Cardiff Council offices today in a campaign for a Welsh-medium schools at the Plasdŵr development in the capital.The council leader had said in 2018 that a Welsh-medium school would be part of the new seven thousand home development in the north-west of the city.However, the council’s cabinet subsequently decided to consult on a proposal to establish a new bilingual primary school which would mean half the pupils going to an English-medium stream.

The bravery of the lifeboat crews who face danger on the seas surrounding the Celtic coasts, or indeed anywhere, to save lives can never be underestimated. Lifeboat crews put their lives at risk in often perilous conditions in their aim to prevent loss of life. Sadly over the years lifeboat crews have lost their lives during acts of outstanding bravery. One such event was on this date, 21st January, in 1970 when five Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) volunteers died in the Fraserburgh lifeboat disaster.

The Arrane son Mannin (Song for Mann) competition is an opportunity for the performance of new and original music written in Manx Gaelic, with the winner representing the Isle of Man at the annual Pan Celtic Festival in Carlow, Ireland, later this year.

Held in the Masonic Hall in Peel, judges at the event were challenged to find the best, original song composed in the Island's native tongue, which will go forward in competition with others from neighbouring Celtic nations, vying to clinch the top position in the festival's International Song Contest.

The annual Oie'll Verree, now a concert-based form of entertainment, was once a celebration centred against a more religious backdrop, and has been the subject of much transformation over the years.

Many of the outlying districts have abandoned this special celebration, but in Kirk Michael it's a much anticipated part of the calendar. Held in the local Ebenezer Hall, it's a great opportunity for the audience to enjoy a host of entertainment in a provincial setting.