Lögberg-Heimskringla - 05.12.2003, Blaðsíða 13

Lögberg-Heimskringla • 5 Desember 2003 • page 13
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FRETTIR • NEWS
Continued from Page 12
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Vestur Islendingur Visits Iceland - Martha Brooks on the INL/NA Cultural Exchange
A trip to the farm in Svartárkot, ancestral home of Martha’s
maternai grandmother, included a warm weicome from
^yggvi Harðarson and his wife Elín Baldvinsdóttir. Froni
left: Tryggvi, Gunnar Ragnars, Martha, Svanhildur
Hermannsdóttir and Jón Hlöðver Áskeisson
Most important of all, the
waiting audience at the
Reykjavík Jazz Festival would
not be disappointed. His relief
was enormous. We pulled into
our sound check at two minutes
to six. The venue blew us away.
The soundboard is massive. A
basketball player could stretch
across it. The room is chic and
upscale in reds and gold and
etched glass. Tables run along
both lengths of the room and
there is a lower level for more
tables. At our concert, at ten
that evening, we played well
and the audience loved it and
asked for more. I was particu-
larly proud of how the guys
handled Winnipegger Michelle
Gregoire’s atmospheric airan-
gement of “Summertime” and
her prayerful take on Georgia
on My Mind. This was a trio
made up of truly great Canadian
jazz artists and it was a joy to be
flying high on the same stage
with them.
But it was an equal joy to
see the faces of new friends, and
newly acquainted relatives,
scattered thioughout the audi-
ence. Ella Fitzgerald once said
something like this: “A stranger
is just a friend I haven’t met
yet.”
When we- were driving
down frorn Akureyri, Ted
Warren wrote in my joumal:
“What amazing places my life
in music has taken me! I’m
travelling with my wife, who I
met on a gig! Now I’ve met you
Martha and Brian and you
brought us to this wonderful
place with all these warm
incredible people. A once in a
lifetime dream fulfilled. And
we got to play great music
together, too!”
We had a few more days in
Reykjavík, visiting and seeing
the sights. We carne back with
enough visions to pack a winter
full of dreams and beyond. On
our last day, we swanr with
Hanna and Jón Bjarman at the
Blue Lagoon. And I rernem-
bered that it was a dream that
started this joumey. Many years
ago when I was feeling a little
exhausted by life, as we all do
sometimes, I dreamt that 1 was
swimming in warm opaque
topaz-blue water with my
Vancouver cousin, Ingunn. I
didn’t even know, then, that
such a place existed. And it had
taken an Ojibway elder named
Jules Lavallee, here on the
Canadian prairies, to teach me
the importance of honouring
my dreams. However that, my
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The Staff at Lögberg-Heimskringla
wish the readers of the paper
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Starfsfólk Lögberg-Heimskrínglu
óskar lesendum blaðsins gleði-
legra jóla HeiIIaríkt nýtt ár!
TIP TOP
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WE FEATURE
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Winnipeg Beach Branch
Box 429 Winnipeg Beach, MB
204-389-6450
Investing in our Community for over 50years
friends, is another story.
Profound thanks are due to
Hjálmar Hannesson, the fomier
Ambassador of Iceland to
Canada; to Gail Einarson-
Icelandair, thé Canada Council
for the Arts, the Reykjavík Jazz
Festival, the Akureyri Jazz Club
and the Cultural Exchange
Program of the Canada Iceland
A farewell at the airport to new found family, third cousin
Hanna Pálsdóttir
McCleery, the Honorary Consul
for Iceland in Toronto and the
former Director of the
Intemational Visits Program of
the Icelandic National League
of North America; to the INL
bóth in Canada and Iceland, and
to the Framfari Chapter of the
INL. Thanks, as well, to
Foundation Inc, as well as
countless other well-wishers
and helping hands both here and
in Iceland.
My love and blessings go
out to all of you in the Icelandic
community for a joyful
Christmas and a healthy and
successful 2004.
OVER FOUR DECADES OF CARING FOR THE ELDERLY
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Our goal over the years has becn to provide a moderatcly sized, non-institution-
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Wc seek to maintain a quiet, comfortable atmosphere where our residcnts can feel
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Oireclor of Nurstng President
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495 Stradbrook Ave. Winnipeg, MB, R3L 0K2
Tel: (204) 452-4044
Creating Community • Sköpum Samfélag