Zane Jansone b. 17/01/82 and Marcis Jansons b. 23/11/85 Transcript of Interview with Judy Caine on 2nd January 2019 (N.B. – timecode numbers refer to the audio recording) Judy Caine: [00:00:01] We can just ignore this (recorder). Okay. This is Judy Caine, and I am in Corby. How do I say your name correctly? Marcis Jansons: [00:00:12] Martis. Judy Caine: [00:00:13] Martis, OK, Yansons (silent 's')? Marcis Jansons: [00:00:17] Jansons. Judy Caine: [00:00:17] OK so it's a ‘Jay’ not a ‘Yay’. Jansons. I'm with Martis Jansons and Zani Jansons? Zane Jansone: [00:00:24] Jansone (pronounced with ‘ey’ on the end). Judy Caine: [00:00:25] Jansone - masculine and feminine, and it's the 2nd of January 2019. They're both from Latvia and they've kindly agreed to talk to me about Latvian dance and music and all things Latvian. OK just to start ...I'm having great difficulty hearing myself here so bear with me when I find out what is going on ... I'm sounding like I'm down a drain .... I'm just going to ... JUDY SORTS TECHNICAL ISSUE WITH RECORDER … Judy Caine: [00:00:02] OK. Let's go again. Marcis Jansons: [00:00:05] Zane, in that time was living in London. And we both are, we was dancing in different pub dance groups. Zane was dancing in London. I was dancing in Leeds/ Bradford folk dance group. And we met in Brussels on the like final day of that time and we was performing as a big festival in Brussels. And me and Zane met there and after a couple of weeks we, we moved together into Corby. Judy Caine: [00:00:54] What year was that when you met then? Marcis Jansons: [00:00:56] 2015, in June 18th or 17th? Zane Jansone: [00:01:02] 18th. Marcis Jansons: [00:01:03] Yeah, and we moved to the Corby in 2015 - 29th of June - and since then we live in the Corby. She came from London, I came from Bradford. Judy Caine: [00:01:15] Why did you come to the UK from Latvia? Marcis Jansons: [00:01:21] I have end of my first relationship, and I was, wanted something new and my, the rest of the family, my sister and mother was living in the UK already and I needed some changes and I moved to England because I knew the language. I can't go somewhere else and don't speak in that language. Judy Caine: [00:01:44] Did you study English at school? Marcis Jansons: [00:01:46] Yeah, yeah. My main language is Latvian. Then I studied Russians and then I studied English as well. But it was difficult in the first because I moved to the Yorkshire and it was terrible because I was studying English when I was from ten-year-old and I was thinking I'm speaking quite good in English and I understand. But then I moved to the Yorkshire to the Bradford and I was thinking, what the? (Laughs) Judy Caine: [00:02:20] I have trouble understanding it - I lived there for 4 years and I have trouble they don't say water it's watter, they don't say baby it's babby. Marcis Jansons: [00:02:29] Yeah. Judy Caine: [00:02:30] They have a short hard 'a' so don't worry, it's not you! Marcis Jansons: [00:02:33] Yeah, because in Latvia we're not learning English. We are learning American English and that's different. Judy Caine: [00:02:41] Yes that's very, very, very true. So, you've been in the UK since 2015? Marcis Jansons: [00:02:49] No, in the UK I'm living more than nine years. I moved in 2009. Judy Caine: [00:02:55] Right, but you met each other in 2015. Marcis Jansons: [00:02:57] Yeah. In Belgium. Yes. Judy Caine: [00:02:59] In Brussels. What were you doing in Brussels? Marcis Jansons: [00:03:01] We was dancing, the Latvian traditional folk dances. Zane was in the London's dance group and I was in the Bradford's dance group; the oldest folk-dance group in England right now being founded in 1965 I think. Judy Caine: [00:03:22] The one in Bradford. Marcis Jansons: [00:03:23] Yeah. Judy Caine: [00:03:24] Wow. So, when did you start the one in Corby that now meets at Catthorpe Manor? Marcis Jansons: [00:03:33] Because, Latvian community, we're not that big like others, thinking that oh you are so many over here because we are only two millions in the whole world. So, if we are comparing other bigger nations. But, we was, me and Zane, was into all the cultural heritage in the England, Latvian culture since we are more because like I was dancing folk dances since I was five and Zane the same I think in Latvia. So, we love to do that. So, once you move in any country of the world you try to find the same people which is doing the same what you love to do and then yeah, we found out that in the Catthorpe Manor there a Latvian Welfare Trust which is Latvian land which was bought more than 60 years ago around, exactly when we need to find it out. Judy Caine: [00:04:32] I can have a look on-line for that ... Marcis Jansons: [00:04:33] ... and this is Latvian Welfare Trust it's not only in England, the Latvian Welfare Trust is all around the world which was founded after the Second World War because some of the Latvians fled to Sweden, some to Australia, America, England, Germany - it's been all around and we are like just part of it but it's a, we are big part. Internet Research The current manor house was built in 1925 following a fire that burnt the original building to the ground in the early 19th Century. The estate has been owned since 1975 by registered charity ‘The Latvian Welfare Trust’. It is an elegant country manor house set within 22 secluded acres of landscaped gardens, parkland and woodland on the Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire borders. Today Catthorpe Manor is a function venue, conference centre and wedding reception venue. It houses the Latvian Supplementary School, purpose built residential care homes for elderly Latvians and many rooms (large and small) that the Latvian community use for a variety of meetings, celebrations and events. Judy Caine: [00:05:00] So the entire population of Latvia in Latvia is about 2 million. Marcis Jansons: [00:05:04] It's all together in world, it's not only ... Judy Caine: [00:05:06] ... in the world? Marcis Jansons: [00:05:06] Yeah, if you're counting all the peoples in Britain, Germany, also wherever we are. It's on only 2 million. Judy Caine: [00:05:15] So how many Latvians approximately are in the UK, do you know. Marcis Jansons: [00:05:20] Two hundred thousand? Zane Jansone: [00:05:21] Yeah. Marcis Jansons: [00:05:22] I heard something. Judy Caine: [00:05:23] Two hundred thousand? That's a lot. Marcis Jansons: [00:05:25] Yeah. Judy Caine: [00:05:25] That's like an eighth of the total world population of Latvia in England. [actually 10%]. Marcis Jansons: [00:05:32] Yeah. Yeah. Judy Caine: [00:05:34] Gosh I'm stunned. That's a surprise to me. And how many live in Corby? Marcis Jansone: [00:05:41] To be honest, I don't know because we are only here three years and we don't go looking for Latvians in Corby. If the future brings it on, they're going to bring them to us or, we're going to find Latvians over here. We, we know only 10 or, not more than that. But I heard that there's quite a bit of Latvians in Corby because like, I was told that Corby was first of the societies where Latvian's moved there. Judy Caine: [00:06:14] Yes, and am I right in recalling that during the second world war. Marcis Jansons: [00:06:19] After the Second World War. Judy Caine: [00:06:21] Didn't a Latvian steel worker come over wanting work and said could he bring his whole choir because they were all steel workers? Or, is that a myth? Marcis Jansons: [00:06:28] No. Basically, Latvians was on that time flooding from Latvia, some of them was in the Germany concentration camps. And after the Second World War, England was looking for the workers, mainly men, the hard-working men, the singles. And the Corby was steel village which needed workers, that's where Scottish came over, and the same with Latvians. The first Latvians came to the Corby, Leeds, London, those big places and they established here. Then after 10, not even 10 years, they bought the land next to the, not far from the Corby, which we still have. Judy Caine: [00:07:23] That's the Catthorpe Manor. Marcis Jansons: [00:07:25] Yeah, part of Latvian Welfare Trust. Judy Caine: [00:07:29] When did your parents come over here. Marcis Jansons: [00:07:33] My mom came 10 years ago. Judy Caine: [00:07:36] So not long before you came over. Marcis Jansons: [00:07:38] Yeah.