Cambrian Hall 75th Anniversary Banquet
By EIFION WILLIAMS
VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Welsh Society held an anniversary banquet on October 16 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the building of the Cambrian Hall.
A delicious buffet was followed by the cutting of a large birthday cake by three of the Society’s long_time members, Nita Adams, May Lievesley and Phyllis Owens. The Master of Ceremonies was Vice_President Barrie Hancock.
Nita and Phyllis, along with Milton Morgan and Eirlys Ann Thomas, recounted some of their memories of the Cambrian Hall and their personal recollections of various renovations and additions to the building and its furnishings. In his own inimitable fashion. Gareth Prytherch also contributed a humorous anecdote from the Society’s past.
David Llewelyn Williams entertained the audience with a reading from O law I Law, (From Hand to Hand), a story by famous Welsh novelist T. Rowland Hughes, set in a slate quarrying village in North Wales. David’s grandfather was himself a slate quarryman and his appreciation of the humour and characters of the period depicted in the novel was evident in his reading.
The highlight of the evening was a musical performance by Bowen Island entertainer Ruta Yawnei. Ruta played on the Ukrainian and Celtic Harp and presented songs from many parts of the world, ending with the popular Welsh folk song Suo Gan.
After the banquet the members enjoyed the usual socializing in the Red Dragon. The evening’s success was largely due to the efforts of Welsh Society Treasurer Gaynor Evans, who planned and organized the event.
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