“The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things; Of shoes and ships – and sealing wax – of cabbages and kings” and, with apologies to Lewis Carroll, of my retirement plans. After 6 ½ years as Editor of Celtic News, it is time for me to go. This edition is the last issue of Celtic News.

It has been an immense privilege to edit this Newsletter. Of course, I could not have done this without the support of Pat Lonergan and the creativity of Julie Clement at Glen Innes Services Club. Thanks also to Garry Kiefer for being such a great generator of ideas.

To all of the wonderful people who have contributed to Celtic News, an enormous Thank You! Last, but certainly not least, thank you to all of you who have read this Newsletter.

This edition of Celtic News is traditionally the one that features all of the photographs from The Australian Celtic Festival. You will find them scattered throughout the Newsletter.

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And it’s all over for another year. I must say that I saw and heard three nights of fabulous music over the Festival weekend. As always, Murphy’s Pigs provided rollicking good fun and entertainment. The Piglets, the touring dance troupe who are part of the Cape Byron Dance Group, added that extra element to the show.

Seeing Darren Coggan on the Saturday night was a highlight. I think he enjoyed making a cameo appearance with Murphy’s Pigs after his solo set as well.

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I’m starting to count down sleeps until the Celtic Festival weekend. After so much disruption, it feels really good to be able to look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones in an atmosphere of great music and culture.

You will find all the latest on the Australian Celtic Fringe Festival in this Newsletter. The theatrical and art gallery activity in this area continues to astound me. There is so much to see and do. I have included performance details by a number of musicians, of course.

The most recent event in Glen Innes was GlenFest which is one of two events to be held by this group in 2021. Here is their report.

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It has been quite a while since I have been able to send you a monthly update on items of interest. Let’s hope this is a sign that we are getting back to a more normal cultural life.

I am writing this introduction on 6th March, the day after the tsunami warning in New Zealand. In my in-box this morning was the information about Medieval Madness from the hard-working Allie Fry who said in her email “Crazy day here with earthquakes, tsunami warnings and evacuations. We are elevated so fed, watered and toileted a lot of extra people today. It was good to be able to help, and no harm done anywhere in the end. Never a dull moment!” All I can say is well done! The information and poster are a bit later in this Newsletter.

Thanks also must go to Alastair Kneale, President of the London Manx Society, for his very interesting article on St Columba. This is of particular interest since we are celebrating Ireland and The Isle of Man at the year’s Celtic Fringe Festival.

I have all the latest on the Australian Celtic Fringe Festival for this Newsletter. In addition, there are several theatrical events, as well as art exhibitions to tell you about. Of course, there is a lot of music as well. I do hope you find lots to see and do after reading this edition. First up, some Gig information.

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Welcome to a new year. Even though the pandemic continues to impact many events, there are several new things to tell you about this year.

I have also seen an interesting snippet posted by Colin Edwards of Platform 9¾. This was completely new to me. Henry Stanley, famous for the line “Dr Livingstone, I presume?” was Welsh by birth.

Henry Morton Stanley was born John Rowlands on 28th January 1841 in Denbigh. He was a journalist and explorer, famous for his search for David Livingstone and his part in the European colonisation of Africa.

His parents were not married, and he was brought up in a workhouse, so in 1859, he left for America as a worker on a ship. Jumping ship in New Orleans, he decided to change his name. He fought on both sides in the American Civil War, before becoming a journalist with the New York Herald, persuading the paper’s editor to commission him to go to Africa to find David Livingstone, who he located on Lake Tanganyika on 10th November 1871. It was his reports on this expedition that made him famous.

Stanley went on to explore vast areas of central Africa, following the Congo River from its source to the sea and with the support of King Leopold II of Belgium. He returned with plans to develop the region and worked to open the lower Congo to commerce by the construction of roads, although his methods of using forced labour during this time have stained his reputation in recent histories. On his return to Europe in 1890, he began a worldwide lecture tour. He became the Member of Parliament for Lambeth and was knighted in 1899. He died in London on 10th May 1904.

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