Wales comes to London on Tuesday, 1st March to celebrate our national day – St David’s Day – with a feast of Welsh food and music. And to mark the celebrations, the Welsh flag – Y Ddraig Goch – will be flown from 10 Downing Street, the Greater London Authority City Hall and Westminster City Hall.
Welsh people longing for home on Tuesday, Londoners and visitors to the Capital will be able to sample some of Wales’s finest food and drink as The True Taste Kitchen will be based at Marble Arch for the day as part of the 10th Anniversary True Taste Kitchen Tour. Visitors can try some traditional Welsh fare such as lamb cawl, roast lamb, Welsh cakes, Welsh Rarebit and Bara Brith as well as some award-winning products including yogurts, pates, pies, waffles, cream liqueurs and Welsh whisky. A host of golden Welsh daffodils will be handed out to passers-by along with Happy St David’s Day cards.
The John Lewis store on Oxford Street will also feature Wales the True Taste award winning produce with cheese tasting masterclasses being held in the department store’s popular Foodhall. Guests attending the Masterclasses on Tuesday 1 March will be introduced to a range of delicious Welsh cheeses, with the opportunity to taste and learn how the cheeses are produced, and how their differing characteristics are developed. Cheeses will be available to taste from 11:30am until 14:30pm and 17:30pm until 19:30pm on 1 March 2011.
Many events have also been organised by the London Welsh, including Sing with your supper which will be held at the London Welsh Centre on March 1st. This will also be the date for the London Welsh St David’s Day Dinner at the Guildhall, with entertainment from Mid Wales Opera. Also organised by the London Welsh centre is the annual St David’s Day walk which will take place this year on Saturday 5th March. For more information go to the London Welsh website
St David’s Day is very much a showcase for Wales around the world and events will also take place in Brussels, China, New York and Los Angeles. Wales’ First Minister Carwyn Jones will host a reception for the diplomatic community at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as part of the ongoing relationship with countries through their diplomatic representatives in London. A number of countries have already chosen Wales as the base for their 2012 pre-training and base camps to take advantage of our excellent sporting facilities.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said:
“Thousands of people all over the world celebrate our national day in different ways because of their links with Wales so it is a great opportunity for us to showcase the best of Wales and raise the profile of our country around the world in areas such as food, drink, music and culture. I am delighted to wish London a Happy St David’s Day – Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus!”
