We had a lovely social barbecue at Nordic House on 7 November. Around 27 people came for the meal, which was partly catered for from outside, and organised by Susanne and her helpers. The meal was complete with beautiful desserts. Thanks to all who helped make this a lovely evening.

On 27 November, we enjoyed a great Over 50s Christmas lunch. Around 30 old and new friends met up, exchanged Christmas presents and, of course, had a visit from Father Christmas. Thanks to Annette for organising this event again, and to everyone who brought delicious food to share.

This year on behalf of the Association, Rita and Marianne booked a table at the Swedish Bazaar in Shenton Park, selling Christmas decorations, craft and sweets. It was great to see that it was well supported by Association members as well as other Scandinavians and people from other nationalities.

With the closure of the Latvian Centre during the course of this year, we had to find a new venue for the Children’s Christmas party and Lucia. Although the hall at Centenary Park in Wilson quickly filled up, the outside space was great and the facilities, including the kitchen, were fine.

Thank you to Hella and her helpers for doing kitchen duty, to Karen Margrethe for playing the piano and to Per and Kate for making a great Santa and helper. Thanks also to Rita and Neil for setting up and being on door duty, and to everyone including Miss Maud’s for their great donations for raffle prices. It was, as usual, lovely to see the Lucia girls and the bride being crowned.

On 17 December, the Danish priest to Australia Bente Holdgaard came from Sydney to conduct for us a Danish Christmas Service at the Lutheran Church. We enjoyed the coffee and chat afterwards, and another chance to catch up with friends.

We hope you have had a good Christmas and a great New Year and look forward to seeing many of you at the functions in 2016. This year also being the 50th anniversary year for the Scandinavian Association, planning has commenced for a celebration, probably for the end of October, as many of our members are away during the winter months, possibly be held at Miss Maud’s, but more about that later in the year. Make a note of this for your diaries.

Events for the year will commence with Fastelavn on Sunday 14 February at Nordic House starting at 3 pm. There will be games for the children followed by the traditional barrel hitting. Children are welcome to dress up if they wish.

Our next busy bee is planned for Sunday 28 February. If you are able to spend just one hour from 8 am to do some work in and around the house and garden, it would be much appreciated. A hot dog lunch is provided, and donations of cakes are always welcome for morning tea.

Remember that the success of the Association is dependent on your participation and contribution. We are still looking for an editor for SCANPOST to commence in late August and still no-one has been forthcoming. Without an editor, SCANPOST will cease. We urge you to come forward and volunteer to keep this important communication going.

The Committee works hard to provide you with enjoyable functions and events. We look forward to your contributions during the year.

With best regards

The Committee

The new Norwegian priest to Australia, Pastor Kristoffer Lønning Tørressen, will be visiting Perth to conduct a Norwegian Christmas service.  The service will be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 16 Aberdeen Street, Perth on Saturday 19 December at 12.30pm.

Everyone is welcome to attend and to enjoy the fellowship of the festive season through this traditional church service.

 

Image: Christmas – Tromsø – Arctic Cathedral 3 by Lee Dyer. Used by permission (Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Danish Biometric Passport Mobile Unit will again be visiting WA to enable Danish citizens in WA to renew their Danish passports in accordance with the new biometric guidelines.

Passport applications will be accepted at the Harbour Room, Tradewinds Hotel, 59 Canning Highway, East Fremantle on 24 November 2014. Danish citizens who wish to take advantage of this service should contact the Royal Danish Consulate by email at henningjacobsen123@hotmail.com to make an appointment.

The service expects to visit Western Australia again in about 6 months time.

The Norwegian Biometric Passport Mobile Unit will be making its next visit to WA on 23 November 2015 to enable Norwegian citizens in WA to renew their Norwegian passports in accordance with the new biometric guidelines.

Norwegian citizens who wish to take advantage of this service should contact the Norwegian Consulate in Fremantle by email at Norwegian.Consulate@wilh.com.au before 18 November 2015 to make an appointment.

The service visits Western Australia annually. Passport renewals outside of this timeframe must be done in either Canberra, another overseas Norwegian embassy or in Norway.

For further enquiries, please phone the Norwegian Consulate on 9435 9099.

 

In May 2016, Neil Wilson will put together his 60th edition of SCANPOST. This will also be his last due to extensive upcoming travel plans. So, at the 2015 AGM, he gave notice that the Association will need to find a new editor in 9 months time.

The task is not an onerous one. It just takes an eagle eye to watch for Nordic news, a cooperative committee to provide copy, and some computer skills and a little time to pull it all together.

Neil is happy to provide the new editor with all his templates and documents. All that is needed is someone to take on the job. Please consider if this is how you can contribute to the Association and, if so, please contact Neil on 9332 5247 with your questions and queries.