Mar 1

Mar 1 St. David's Day At The Corner Café

St. David is the Patron Saint of Wales, and today is his day. So look out for flying leeks and daffodils !!

As you all know the history of St. David's Day, I am going to concentrate on some Welsh traditions, their food, and some pictures of their beautiful country.
Wales is part of the United Kingdom but is a country in southwest Great Britain. It has a beautiful, rugged coastline, mountains, national parks and, of course, the beautiful Welsh language and Celtic culture.
Cardiff is the capital and is a coastal city with a lot of nightlife and a medieval castle. To the northwest, lies Snowdonia National Park with its lakes, glacial landforms, walking trails and, of course, Mount Snowdon itself, where there is a railway to the top if you don't want the walk.

There are many many beautiful places in Wales to visit.

There are many old customs in Wales, unfortunately, some of which are dying out.

Love spoons. These were given as a love token to your sweetheart. They are now readily available in gift shops. They will feature, hearts, horseshoes, knots etc. and often have a hidden meaning on the top of the handle, eg a dragon means protection.

Wales is not a part of England and a lot of people insist on calling the Welsh English, but do so at your peril. There is a long history of conflict between Wales and England, so the last thing a Welsh person wants to be is English!!

Of course, then there is Rugby their national sport. The atmosphere in Wales is electrifying when they beat the English. It is seen as a way of revenge on the English who have dominated them in history. They are very emotional people and even men have been known to cry at a rugby game against England.

While everybody associates drinking with the Irish, forget it, it's the Welsh that like a drink. Now, I suppose that's where I get it from! Sadly though, they have the highest number of binge drinkers anywhere in the UK, according to the National Statistics. The report found that 14% of Welsh people had sometimes drunk 14 units of alcohol in a day. Cardiff has been called the binge-drinking capital of Europe.

Sheep jokes are a no-go area as well. Yes, there is a lot of sheep in Wales and there is a lot of industry based around them, such as lamb and wool. It rains a lot there so the land is green and well suited to sheep rearing. Sheep can cause problems by wandering onto train tracks, peoples lawns, and even roofs. If you tell a sheep joke to a Welshman he won't laugh, believe me!

It rains so often in Wales they take no notice of it. People just carry on with their day-to-day lives and if that includes queueing for a ride at a fairground so be it. There is a saying that says if you can't see the mountains it's raining and if you can it's going to rain.

Now, on to their food. We know that Welsh Lamb is the best you can get, expensive but worth every penny.
There is Welsh Rarebit, a classic Welsh Dish, which is their equivalent of cheese on toast but a lot tastier. You make a cheese sauce with melted cheese (but keep a bit back for later) which can include ale, mustard or Worcester sauce. Grill the bread on both sides, and spread the cheese mixture on top and sprinkle with the reserved cheese. Grill till the cheese is melted and turned golden brown. Eat and enjoy!

Welsh Cakes, done the traditional way on a cast iron baking stone, which weighs a ton - the stone, not the cakes - and I can tell you that from experience. They are lovely eaten when hot with loads of butter on them.

Cockles and laverbread. When I was young, this was a regular breakfast at my Grandmother’s house. The cockles were fresh, and I mean fresh, gathered that morning. Laverbread is seaweed, again gathered fresh from Gower Pensinsula and taken to Swansea market early and taken home and cooked.

A Welsh breakfast is something else.
This consists of cockles and laverbread, served with thick bacon, and I mean bacon, not the rubbish you buy now, and can include Welsh sausages, mushrooms and eggs.

Leeks are a traditional vegetable in Wales, and one of their national emblems, of course.
And there are numerous Welsh cheeses.

These are just some examples of the delicious food found in Wales.

Well, I hope that has told you a bit about Wales, I could post a lot more but I think this is long enough as it is. It's a beautiful place to live and I always wanted to live there, sadly never did. Unfortunately, the English have penetrated the country and to a large extent spoilt it. Gower Peninsular was beautiful and is still classed as an outstanding beauty spot but it has, like everywhere, been given over to buildings etc. now. There was nothing when I used to go there.
Anyway, tell us what you think about Wales. I doubt many of you have tried cockles and laverbread, but give it a go. With a lot of pepper on its fantastic. And not forgetting the Welsh Language!