Welshpool delivers

 

In years to come when people ask thousands of Welshpool area residents where they were on April 29^th, 2011, the proud answer will be “Powis Castle”.

 

The stunning castle delivered a truly iconic venue to watch the Royal Wedding of HRH Prince William and Kate Middleton and by the time the ceremony begun in Westminster, more than 3,000 people had packed into its Gardens.

 

And as the ceremony progressed, still they came in their hundreds. Despite grey skies and chilly weather, the rain held off as Welshpool hosted one of the country’s most colourful outpouring of nationalism.

 

By 9.30am, National Trust officials had ‘clicked in’ nearly 1,000 people and it was standing room only by the time Prince William muttered “you look beautiful” to his stunning bride at the altar.

 

Organisers Welshpool Town Council, Powis Castle and the National Trust had certainly gone to a lot of effort to make it memorable. The world’s largest type of LCD screen towered over the pristine hedgerows to ensure everyone enjoyed a prime view, although there was only limited activity away from the big screen on the giant lawn.

 

But one sentiment seemed to be running through the revelling masses and it was summed up by visitor Amy Harris who had travelled to Welshpool from the Scottish Borders.

 

“When we heard through the National Trust what was happening at Powis Castle we decided to drive down here for the day,” she said. “We set off at 5am to get here and it has certainly been worth it but I can’t believe there aren’t any TV cameras here to capture this?”

 

It was a comment repeated by many. While the local media was out in force, there was no sign of television channels who delivered a bizarre snub in favour of obscure locations in other parts of Wales.

 

The BBC cut away from Buckingham Palace to a drab street party (probably within a stone’s throw of Cardiff) while S4C’s links were to community centres and street corners with an interview with a mobile catering saleswoman in a housing estate deemed more interesting than the sensational backdrop of Powis Castle.

 

Still, it won’t stop Montgomeryshire partying well into the night with the celebrations to continue in Newtown where a state-of-the-art laser show will begin around 9pm.