Royal wedding: Big day is a turn-off for ‘escapees’
* by Darren Devine, Western Mail
* Apr 27 2011
While a global audience of two billion watches Prince William and Kate Middleton exchange vows a group of 30 people will be buried away near Machynlleth taking Tai Chi instructions from Shaolin monk Pol Wong.
As well as developing their martial arts skills they will be doing everything from reflexology to drumming workshops.
Everything, that is, apart from watching the royal wedding.
The group are attending an Escape the Wedding weekend for those who feel they’re part of a silent majority indifferent to the royal family and the expense and extravagance of Friday’s events at Westminster Abbey.
Retired Milford Haven deck hand Philip Venables, who is going to the get-together at Llwyngwern farm, north of Machynlleth, with wife Anita, says the royals are “irrelevant” in Wales.
Republican Mr Venables, 66, from Llandissilio, in Pembrokeshire, a founder member of Balchder Cymru (Pride of Wales), said: “We just want to get away for the day so we won’t see it on TV or hear of it.
“They’re not relevant in Wales and they don’t even represent Wales on the royal standard or the union flag so why should the people of Wales celebrate a royal wedding?”
Factory worker Mark Forrester, who is going to the farm with partner Karis Boys-Yates, said the wedding was being “rammed down people’s throats”.
Mr Forrester, 34, also a Balchder Cymru member, added: “We’re being put in a position where if you’re not going along with the all the festivities you don’t belong.
“I don’t see why we should be worshipping people by accident of birth. People are so sycophantic about it as if they’re from a higher plane – they’ve got the same DNA as the lowliest person on the planet.”
Mr Forrester, from Holywell, in Flintshire, added, “When it’s all going on I’ll be sitting in the sun getting a tan.”
But organiser Adam Phillips, from Mold, stressed the weekend is not just for Welsh nationalists – the group has had numerous enquiries from people in England, equally underwhelmed by the wedding.
Mr Phillips, who has been featured in French, Canadian and Australian media for organising his Mid Wales getaway, said: “I’ve had a lot of inquiries from English people as well. They’ve been contacting me asking for directions because it’s in Mid Wales.
“They’ve asked if they’ll be welcome and of course they’ll be welcome – there’s a welcome for anyone who wants to get away from it.”
Around 45% of British people are not planning to watch the celebrations, with 32% saying they would tune in, according to a survey by pollsters YouGov for online travel agent Lastminute.com.
It’s also thought many people will be taking their holidays at the time of the wedding simply to take advantage of the long break for Easter and the several Bank Holidays.
At least three million people are set to travel overseas during the period, according to estimates by the Association of British Travel Agents.
But Alun Davies, from Cardiff, a former equerry to Prince Charles, said those turned off by Friday’s nuptials, said to be costing the economy £5bn in lost working time, are “killjoys”.
Mr Davies, 60, who served the Prince between 1974 and 1977, said: “These people sound like a bunch of killjoys. This is a time for great celebration and the majority of the nation, and certainly most of Australia and the Commonwealth, seem very taken with the sense of occasion and celebration.
“We’ve had nothing but bad news about the economy, Libya and Afghanistan for months and this is something that’s going to cheer us all up.
“I can’t wait to crack open a bottle on Friday, but as a good Welshman I appreciate that people have the right to their own opinions and if they want to go and spend time in Machynlleth good luck to them.
“You’ll never please everyone all of the time, but luckily the majority of Wales and Britain seem to be very much looking forward to the event, as I am.”
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