Obit: Bernard La Borgne (Brittany)

Subject: RE: Obit: Bernard La Borgne (Brittany)
From: Mick Tems
Date: 05 Jun 08 - 04:12 AM

Some facts about Bernard:
*He wrote a book in Gallo.
*Calennig recorded a tune called Lanthenac, to show our appreciation to the perfect host.
*Bernard was a correspondent/photographer for the daily paper Ouest France.
*He used to drive to Wales for his holidays, and on the occasions when he was in Llantrisant Folk Club, he used to thrill us with his Fest Noz anaccompanied singing for the Breton dance Ronde de St. Vincent: "Tout en buvant J'ai perdu ma cascuette!" ...and he would demonstrate the steps, singing as he went. My favourite gallic song was Le Premier C'est Marin, and Bernard would oblige:
"Il a toujours la bierre en main,
La bouteille sur la table;
Jamais il n'aura ma main
Pour etre miserable!"

A great man and a true son of Brittany.

Subject: RE: Obit: Bernard La Borgne (Brittany)
From: Mick Tems
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 11:11 AM

Sorry - Bernard lived in Cotes d'Armor, not Ille Et Villaine. La Cheze is on the department border.

Subject: Obit: Bernard La Borgne (Brittany)
From: Mick Tems
Date: 04 Jun 08 - 10:30 AM

Nadege La Borgne, Bernard's daughter, has sent me an email giving the sad news that Bernard died in May 2008.

Bernard, who lived in a house called Lanthenac, just outside the village of La Cheze, about 10km east of the town of Loudeac, Ille Et Villaine, Brittany, was a Breton true and proud. He was an expert in Gallo, a romance language of East Brittany, - he called himself "Buernard", which is Gallo for Bernard. He loved the Fest Noz tradition and Breton folk song. Calennig made a trip to the festival in La Cheze - Bernard was the organiser, and he was also on the committee of a Breton traditional festival which corresponded to the local Welsh eisteddfodau.

Bernard was a mover and a shaker. Mike James (of Jacal, Twm Twp and Mike James and Yves Leblanc) saw him at a festival last spring, when he was a judge of traditional singing - Mike said that Bernard had difficulty walking, but Mike didn't realise he was far from well.

Another one gone to the Great Fest Noz in the sky.

Mick Tems