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David Cornock
Parliamentary correspondent, Wales
Tidy St David's Day celebrations at Westminster go on
The celebrations seem to be lasting longer than the Plaid Cymru leadership election (no mean feat: the DFS sale is expected to end sooner).
Wales is everywhere in Westminster today - in the Commons chamber, the restaurants and committee rooms - even the chapel.
The Liberal Democrats hosted a lunchtime St David's Day bash in the same venue used last night by Plaid Cymru. Only the menu (cheese, not quail's eggs) and the harpist (Lord Thomas of Gresford) appeared to have changed. Some of the guests may have been there all night.
By then, the 58 freshly-baked Welshcakes brought to work by the former leader of the Welsh Lib Dems, Lord German, had been swiftly consumed by staff and fellow peers.
Downing Street hosted more A-listers last night, with Sam Warburton, Warren Gatland, TV presenter Steve Jones and actor Joanna Page.
The prime minister made the inevitable "tidy" Gavin and Stacey joke and in Warburton's presence said nice things about last Saturday's six nations win, despite admitting "I will always be on the white side rather than the red side".
There was praise for the Welsh team's rugby world cup performance and that semi-final defeat: "I feel some sympathy. I have had a bit of a run in with the French recently, so I know what you went through, but it was tremendous."
Wishing everyone a happy St David's Day, he joked that a March 1 bank holiday is being blocked by George Osborne: "I'll try my best with the Chancellor, but anything that reduces GDP even by 0.001 per cent upsets him deeply."
This morning, children from the London Welsh School presented a grateful John Bercow with daffodils before singing (the children, not the Speaker) at the traditional St David's Day service at the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the palace of Westminster.
Oh, and there will also be a three-hour debate on Welsh affairs in the Commons this afternoon. If only Lord German had saved me a Welshcake, it would be better than Christmas.
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A novel idea?
Comment number 1.
JCP1st March 2012 - 20:40
Tremendous, a happy Saint David's day from an English Aberystwyth Alumni!
Link to this (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
dispozest1st March 2012 - 22:52
For me - it was just another working Thursday! Tomorrow will be Friday... No big deal!
How shallow our ruling class has become - facing what looks like the biggest game of economic collapsing dominoes the world has ever seen, the suits occupy their working hours with trivia at every available opportunity... Jesters and fools! The lunatics are truly running the asylum!
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Comment number 3.
orangeboxman2nd March 2012 - 10:04
Strange, the BBC Wales site has not mentioned the one key event of St David's Day this year - the dedication of a new Shrine to St David in his Cathedral. It has been painstakingly recreated by the efforts of staff, congregation and friends of the Cathedral. At a truly uplifting service of dedication yesterday it justified apparently no mention, this in a country whose patron saint is St David.
Link to this (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
Ricayboy2nd March 2012 - 10:14
Let's hope they'll all be celebrating England's national day on 23rd April. The British elite do very little to celebrate and promote England and many of our leaders are positively Anglophobic.
Link to this (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
digbic782nd March 2012 - 10:45
lol
come on Dave.You need to pull your finger out.At least I didn't fall asleep half way through another one of your pointless articles though.
Surely you can give us some real news to comment on.I do not see the point in your position and the welsh page of the BBC is rubbish.I find it hard to believe that you and Betsan are the best the BBC can get.
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Comments 5 of 8