Issue 64 Dec 2015

Fréttir
Issue 64
December 2015
Annual Christmas Party
Sunday, Dec.13
2-4 p.m.
Norway House
1110 Hillside Ave.
Trish Baer and Margo Matwychuk at the club booth
Come one come all to the 2015 Icelanders of
Scandinavian Craft Fair
The Scandinavian Bake Sale and Craft Sale on
Nov 14th, proved to be big business for our
club. This years table was packed with a great
selection of crafts and baking from our
members. The selection included everything
from fresh made skyr to doggie bone wreathes.
Icelanders that drove down from Nanaimo
hoping to buy vínarterta missed out when it
was sold out before noon. This annual event
has become the clubs largest fund raiser.
Whether you were a crafter, a purchaser or
volunteered your time, thank you all that
supported the club.
Victoria Christmas Party. It is being held at
Norway House. This year we are going to sing
Christmas carols, including some in Icelandic.
Don’t worry, YouTube and song sheets will help
us. Please bring potluck snacks, sweet or
savoury.
Gleðileg jól!
Beck Lectures go to Nanaimo
Dr Torfi Tulinius, Director of Medieval Studies at
the University of Iceland was the most recent guest
lecturer sponsored by the Beck Lectures. Helga
Thorson new coordinator for the Beck Trust
extended the reach of the Beck Lectures to
Nanaimo with the assistance of the Linda
Almanak
Jan 10, 3:30 p.m. Uvic, Room TBA
“Vesturfarar” TV Series
Jan 24, UVic
Genealogy workshop
March 5, 2016
Thorrablot
Apr 29 and 30, 2016
INL Convention, River Rock Casino
Bjarnason of the Mið Eyjar Icelandic Group. Torfi
gave a series of three lectures, the first was on
contemporary Icelandic Detective Fiction. The
other two lectures were medieval themed and
dealt with Egil’s Saga and Old Norse translations
of Medieval French Romances. The lectures where
well attended over all, (con´t)
Lectures (con´t)
the Sunday lecture in Victoria had well
over 60 people in the room and 35
attended the same lecture when
presented in Nanaimo. Consul General
Heather Alda Ireland and her husband
Bill of Vancouver along with Consul
General Hjalmar Hannesson and his wife
Anna Birgis of Winnipeg attended
Sundays lecture at UVic.
L to R: Anna Birgis, Dr. Torfi Tulinius , Helga Thorson,
Hjalmar Hannesson, Heather Alda Ireland, Trish Baer and
Richard Baer in the background.
JUSTIN
BIEBER
Torfi enjoying the drive north to Nanaimo
FRIEND of
OLDEST LIVING ICELANDER
ICELAND
Georg Breiðfjörð Ólafsson in
Stykkishólmur, West Iceland, is the oldest
living Icelander. He is 106 years and seven
months old. No Icelandic male has ever
reached that age. His longevity will be the
subject of an article in the US magazine
Men’s Health.
There is longevity in his family, however.
His mother reached the age of 105, his
grandmother died at the age of 95 and his
younger brother passed away last spring,
just before his 100th birthday.
When a journalist asked what he
attributed his long life to, he answered,
“Eating everything available in those
days: salted lamb, sugar and fat, and as
little of vegetables as possible.”
Justin Bieber’s new music video, shot in Iceland, is out,
released on his Facebook page November 4th. The song it
features, I’ll Show You, is romantic, but even more so are
the stunning scenes from South Iceland. We see the pop
star lightly dressed at times, but the naked Icelandic
landscape plays an even bigger role.
Bieber seems to have truly enjoyed Iceland, as he tweeted
his goodbye including the phrases “best trip ever” and
“Iceland, we love you”.
And so, a new Íslandsvinur* is born—and there’s almost
nothing he can do about it. For life.
*When an international celebrity visits (or even mentions)
Iceland, the Icelandic media have a habit of branding them
‘Íslandsvinur’ (Friend of Iceland) and the label usually sticks.
Philip F. W Bartle
July 2, 1943-November 6, 2015
Mae Guðrun ANDERSON
May 23, 1928 - September 24, 2015
Mae was born on the farm of Reykhólar near
Riverton, Manitoba. Her parents were Ebbi & Villa
Pálsson, although her father was born in Winnipeg,
he was raised in Geysir, Manitoba. Her mother was
from the large and well known Thorarinnson family
who had emigrated from the BorgarfjörðurSnæfellsnes area of Iceland and settled the farm of
Skriðulandi.
In 1925 her parents settled the farm of Reykhólar
near Riverton, where she grew up. In 1947 she
married Chief Petty Officer Márus Sigurgeirson who
had returned from service overseas during WWII. He
was born on Hecla Island but his family had moved to
“Osi” in the Riverton area, a few years before. After
first settling in Riverton Mae and Márus moved to
Bisset, Manitoba where he had found work as a
mechanic. However in 1949 Mae was left a widow
with a two year old daughter. She returned to
Riverton to be closer to her family. In Riverton, Mae
became better aquainted with a handsome Oli
Anderson, the son of Magnús (Mike) and Vega
Anderson of Geysir. Oli and Mae were married on
April 4th, 1953. They set up house in Riverton and
soon Randy, Trevor and Pam would join their sister
Kristin. Mae was busy being a mother, Óli and his
brother Beggi were partners operating a heavy
equipment company. They lived in Manitoba until
1970, when they moved to Pincher Creek, Alberta
where they bought and ran a hotel. And in 1978 Óli
and Mae moved farther west, to Sooke, B.C. where
they ran a travel agency for some time before Óli
became a realtor and land developer. Mae was proud
of her home and enjoyed entertaining, her guests
were always spoiled with Icelandic hospitality, in
addition to laughter, stories and too much to eat.
Mae was predeceased by her son Randy in 1983 and
Óli in 2012. Due to her debilitating arthritis her home
became too much after Ólis death and Mae moved to
Duncan where her daughter Pam lives. Mae will be
missed by all that knew her.
We are saddened to announce the passing of Dr Phil Bartle, a
local man of Icelandic descent. Phil´s father, Albert (Jónsson)
Bartle was the grandson of Albert Jónsson and Sigriður
Thorsteinsdóttir who had emmigrated from Trollatunga,
Strandasysla, North-West, Iceland in 1887 and settled in
Winnipeg.
Phil was born July 2, 1943 in Vancouver,BC and grew up in the
Okanagan on a cherry orchard, after attended UBC where he
majored in social Anthropology, he travelled extensively in
Africa and Asia. In 1969 Phil married an American girl named
Patricia Louise McCalib they had one son named Gregory, but
their marriage didn´t last and they were divorced in 1975.
During his travels in Africa he met Elizabeth Wilhelmina
Quayson a "royal" (adehwe), of the Agona matri-clan, of the
Fanti tribe. Liz was born in the Central Region, Cape Coast
District of Ghana (formerly the Gold Coast). Phil and Liz were
married by traditional Akan rites in 1976 in Apewosika, Ghana.
They have two daughters, Beatrice born in Ghana and Amanda
born here in Victoria.
For those that knew Phil, he was an incredible man who had an
amazing career and many fascinating stories. Phil was an
educator, a social scientist, a senior planner, trainer and
adviser of development projects and specialized in the
sociology of communities, and in community empowerment.
His extensive career included, Chief Technical Adviser for
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (HABITAT)
based in Kampala, Uganda, he worked for the Office for United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Mandera, Kenya
and adviser for aid projects in Southern Ethiopia. He was Team
Leader and Representative for South West Asia for Rädda
Barnen (Swedish Save the Children). But sadly most of us only
remember his positions locally when he was a professor at
Lester B Pearson College of the Pacific, at Camosun College,
and UVIC.
Phil had a passion for helping the less fortunate, he
volunteered for many fund raising events, parades, prison and
hospital visits, and participated in entertainment events for
disabled and other special needs children around the world
and here in Victoria. You may have seen him and not
recognized him; he was often dressed as a clown or Santa
Claus. If you visited his home you would discover some of his
other talents, entertaining guests by playing guitar or electric
keyboard.
He will be missed by his family and an uncountable number of
friends and colleagues around the world.
Left to right Amanda, Phil, Liz and Beatrice
THORRABLOT 2016
This year’s Thorrablót committee have opted for live music and have booked the BALD EAGLES
BAND to play at the annual dinner and dance scheduled for March 5th, 2016 at Norway House. At this
point menu items will be the same as last year. Anyone willing to help in any way or participate in
organizing our annual event, please call Fred @ 250-507-6253. http://www.baldeaglesmusic.com/music