Study, work or travel in the UK. British
culture and life.
Things to do in the UK in March 2009
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Study, work or travel in the UK. British
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Things to do in the UK in March 2009
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MARCH 2009
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| Sun 1 Mar 2009 | St David's Day, Wales Saint David's Day is the traditional day for Welsh people. Saint David is the "patron saint" of Wales. He was a member of the Celtic church and died on 1st March 589 A.D. There will be events in many towns in Wales, and Welsh communities in other parts of the UK will also gather together in pubs, churches or other places. There is a parade in Cardiff: http://www.stdavidsday.org/stdavid. For more details, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David's_Day. * Basic introduction to Wales: Britain/Countries/Wales * Photos of Wales: Travel/Tours/Wales |
 Daffodils in bloom |
 St David's Day: Traditional Welsh dress |
| Sun 1 Mar 2009 | Maslenitsa, London A free Russian spring festival, including khorovody (circle dancing), skomorokhi (Russian minstrels), tug-of-wars, the Russian game of storming the snowy town (snezhniy gorodok), performances by the Russian Orthodox Choir and the Russian Orchestra of London, and blini (Russian pancakes). The event is from 1-6pm in Potters Fields Park (nearest Tube: London Bridge; map). See: http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/culture/maslenitsa.jsp |
| Wed 4 Mar - Thu 5 Mar 2009 |
UCAS Higher Education Convention, Manchester A free education fair in Manchester for people who are thinking of applying for a course at a British university or college. You can pick up the prospectus and ask questions, and attend short talks about university life (book a ticket for the ones you want soon after you have arrived). The event is at the Manchester Central Convention Complex (map). There are similar fairs in other cities in the UK on different dates, organised by UCAS. For details, see: http://www.ucasevents.com/conventions |
| Thu 5 Mar - Sun 8 Mar 2009 |
Crufts, Birmingham A famous annual British dog show which started in 1928. It is held at the NEC in Birmingham (nearest train station: Birmingham International). The "Best in Show" award is presented on the final day (Sunday). See: http://www.crufts.org.uk. * Photos from this event: Ideas/Album/Crufts |
 Crufts dog show |
 Best In Show |
| Thu 5 Mar - Tue 10 Mar 2009 |
East, London A festival set in East London, featuring more than 300 events covering performance, art, history, fashion and design, film and food. It takes place across three main regions: Central East (The City, Shoreditch, Hoxton, Whitechapel, Spitalfields), Hackney and Stratford. See: http://www.visitlondon.com/events/east |
| Fri 6 Mar - Sun 15 Mar 2009 |
National Science and Engineering Week, UK Various special events take place across the UK to celebrate science, engineering and technology and its importance to our lives. See: http://www.the-ba.net/the-ba/Events/NSEW |
| Fri 6 Mar - Sat 7 Mar 2009 |
National Graduate Recruitment Exhibition, London An exhibition for students thinking about jobs/careers after graduation. The event is in Hall 1 at the Barbican (nearest Tube: Barbican; map) To register for this event, see: http://www.gradjobs.co.uk/about_exhibition.php?exhi_id=94 |
| Sat 7 Mar 2009 | TNT Magazine Travel Show, London Fair providing information to people who want to organise travel in the UK, Europe or around the world. You can visit the stalls of tour and travel companies (some offer competitions or special discounts), and you can attend seminars on a variety of travel-related topics. The event is free and is open between 9:30am-6:00pm at the New Connaught Rooms, 61-65 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5DA (nearest Tubes: Holborn or Covent Garden; map). For details, see: http://tntonline.co.uk/londonlife/tnt_events/specialevents/tnt-events-calendar.aspx. * Information about travel in/from the UK: Travel/Tours |
| Mon 9 Mar 2009 | Commonwealth Day, UK & other Commonwealth countries Commonwealth Day is an annual event (on the second Monday of March) during which all the member countries of the Commonwealth celebrate their links with one another. People use the day to promote understanding about global issues, international co-operation and the work of the modern Commonwealth. Each year there is a different theme. There is a special multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey, usually attended by the Queen. |
| Tue 10 Mar - Fri 13 Mar 2009 |
Cheltenham Festival, Cheltenham One of the main horse racing events of the year, taking place in Cheltenham (in Gloucestershire, part of the Cotswolds). This is jump racing (over fences), with many top British and Irish horses competing. The most important race is the Gold Cup on Friday. You can watch the races on television on Channel 4. See: http://www.cheltenham.co.uk/festival/the_festival.html * Horse racing in the UK: Life/Sport/Horse |
 Cheltenham Festival |
| Wed 11 Mar - Sun 15 Mar 2009 |
Country Living Fair (Spring), London British crafts and small businesses display their products. A good place to find unusual gifts. There is an entrance charge. The event is held at the Business Design Centre in London (near Angel underground station; map). For details, or to buy tickets in advance, see: http://www.countrylivingfair.com. |
| Fri 13 Mar 2009 | Red Nose Day, UK There are fun events across the UK to raise money for Comic Relief, which supports UK and African charities. Some of the ways you can help are by giving a donation at the counter of any bank or building society, by buying Comic Relief products such as a red nose or the Comic Relief record, or by taking part in or organising a fund-raising event. The first Red Nose Day was in 1988; after 1989 it was decided to do it once every two years. A fund-raising programme will be shown on BBC television throughout the evening. For full details about the event and to make a donation, see: http://www.rednoseday.com. * Photos of a fun run on a previous Red Nose Day: Ideas/Album/RedNoseDay1 and Ideas/Album/RedNoseDay2 |
| Sat 14 Mar - Sun 15 Mar 2009 |
Six Nations Championship, UK International rugby competition (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy). Saturday: 3pm Italy vs Wales ; 5pm Scotland vs Ireland Sunday: 3pm England vs France * Rugby in the UK: Life/Sport/Rugby * Photos from a visit to a Six Nations game: Ideas/Album/SixNations |
| Sat 14 Mar 2009 | Newroz, London Event in Trafalgar Square from 12-6pm, based on New Year celebrations by the Turkish/Kurdish and other central Asian communities. See: http://www.london.gov.uk/gla/events/mar-09.jsp |
| Sun 15 Mar 2009 | London St Patrick's Day Festival, London A celebration of Irish culture in London, usually on the Sunday nearest to St Patrick's Day (17 March). There is a parade starting at 12 noon which passes down Piccadilly, Regent Street and Trafalgar Square before finishing in Whitehall Place There is also a festival of music and cultural performances in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Covent Garden. To check full details of this year's event, see: http://www.london.gov.uk/stpatricksday. * Photos from this event: Ideas/Album/StPatricksDay |
| Tue 17 Mar 2009 | St Patrick's Day, Ireland A public holiday in Ireland. Saint Patrick was born in north England or southern Scotland at the time when the country was occupied by the Romans. He was captured and made into a slave, and was taken to Ireland, where he worked as a shepherd. He escaped on a boat, but later came back to Ireland and worked to convert the Irish people to become Christians (previously the main religion was paganism). Saint Patrick died on 17th March 461 AD, and has become the "patron saint" of Ireland. St Patrick's Festival in Dublin: http://www.stpatricksfestival.ie If you want to celebrate St Patrick's Day in London, suggestions include the Irish Cultural Centre, the London Irish Centre, or St Martin-in-the-Fields * Guide to Dublin: Travel/Tours/Ireland/Dublin |
 St Patrick's Day |
| Fri 20 Mar - Sun 13 Apr 2009 |
Ideal Home Show, London The Ideal Home Show is an annual exhibition about home improvement which takes place at Earls Court. Tickets are cheaper if bought in advance, but they are also available at the show. For more information, see: http://www.idealhomeshow.co.uk. |
| Fri 20 Mar 2009 | Spring Equinox, UK The day and night are each 12 hours (this is known as the spring or vernal "equinox"). Pagans celebrate this natural event. See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/springequinox.shtml. |
| Sat 21 Mar 2009 | Head of the River Race, London A boat race on the river Thames in London for "eights", which each have eight people who row and one person (the "cox") who directs the boat. There are several hundred boats competing, setting off at 10-second intervals (the strongest teams row first), and the times to finish the course are recorded. It is expected to start at 11:15am and end at about 12:30pm; the fastest boats can complete the 4.25 mile (7 kilometre) course in about 20 minutes. The race starts at Chiswick Bridge and ends at Putney Bridge. You can watch it from any accessible point along the river, but the best views are probably on the east bank of the Thames (the side which is in Surrey) just north of Chiswick Bridge (near the railway station Mortlake; see: map). Poor weather or strong tides may stop the race, so check before on the website: http://www.horr.co.uk. |
| Sat 21 Mar 2009 | Eid Milad-Un-Nabi Celebrations, London The Sunni Muslim Association's free annual multi-cultural celebration of Milad-Un-Nabi, at Tooting Leisure Centre (nearest Tube: Tooting Broadway; map) from 4pm-10pm. Everyone is welcome to attend (both Muslims and non-Muslims). See: http://www.suma.org.uk |
| Sat 21 Mar 2009 | Six Nations Championship, UK Final day of the international rugby competition (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy). The games are: 1:15pm Italy vs France ; 3:30pm England vs Scotland ; 5:30pm Wales vs Ireland * Rugby in the UK: Life/Sport/Rugby * Photos from a visit to a Six Nations game: Ideas/Album/SixNations |
 Final matches of the Six Nations competition |
| Sun 22 Mar 2009 | Mother's Day (also called "Mothering Sunday"),
UK A time for people living in the UK to think about their mothers. People often give flowers or chocolates or organise a special day out for their mothers at this time, and may send a special "Mother's Day" card. Note that Mother's Day is celebrated on a different date outside the UK. * Ideas for Mother's Day presents: Ideas/Gifts/MothersDay |
| Wed 25 Mar - Wed 8 Apr 2009 |
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, London A festival of gay and lesbian films, shown at the National Film Theatre in London. For details, see: http://www.llgff.org.uk. * Information for lesbians in the UK: Personal/Relationships/Lesbian * Information for gay men in the UK: Personal/Relationships/Gay * British films: Britain/Films |
| Sat 28 Mar / Sun 29 Mar 2009 |
British Summer Time (BST) starts, UK If you are in the UK, change all clocks forward 1 hour. You lose one hour's sleep. The time change is actually during the night: at 1am on Sunday morning the time is changed to 2am. Before going to bed you should change at least your watch and alarm clock, and the clock for your heating system - you can make other changes on Sunday morning if you prefer. Note that some computers and electronic equipment automatically change their clocks during the night. Mornings become darker, and afternoons/evenings brighter. If you are calling abroad note that the time difference may have changed (for example: Japan/Korea change from 9 hours ahead of the UK to 8 hours ahead). For the next 6 months the time in the UK is one hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+1). When you change your clocks, you can check the exact time from the speaking clock by phoning 123. Do not always believe the clocks which you may see in public places - sometimes there is a delay before they are changed. More information is available on the website: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/info/timeuk.htm. |
| Sun 29 Mar 2009 | Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race, London An annual university boat race on the Thames in London between Oxford University (the "Dark Blues") and Cambridge University (the "Light Blues"). The teams toss a coin to choose which side of the river they start (the north side is "Middlesex", and the south side is "Surrey": these are the names of the counties on each river bank. The race starts at Putney Bridge (near Putney Bridge underground station, on the Wimbledon branch of the District line; see: map), and ends after a distance of 4.25 miles (7 kilometres) just north of Chiswick Bridge (near the railway station Mortlake; see: map). The starting time changes each year, depending on the tide. Thousands of people line the river to see the two boats pass (after this people often rush to the nearby pubs to watch the rest of the race, which lasts about 20 minutes). The first contest took place in 1829, after a student at Cambridge challenged his friend at Oxford. Each year about 400 million people watch the event on television, in over 150 countries. Before the main event is a similar race between the second teams, which are known as "Isis" (Oxford) and "Goldie" (Cambridge). Other useful vocabulary: cox or coxswain (the person who steers the boat), stroke (the rower nearest the cox), bow (the rower furthest from the cox), a clash of oars (when the oars of the two boats hit each other), to catch a crab (when one of the oars gets stuck in the water and cannot complete its stroke). In 2009 the starting time for the race is 3:40pm. For more details about the event, see: http://www.theboatrace.org. You can watch the race live on television. |
 Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race |
| Tue 31 Mar - Thu 2 Apr 2009 |
UCAS Higher Education Convention, London A free education fair in central London for people who are thinking of applying for a course at a British university or college. You can pick up the prospectus and ask questions, and attend short talks about university life (book a ticket for the ones you want soon after you have arrived). The event is at the National Hall, Olympia in London (nearest Tube: Kensington Olympia). There are similar fairs in other cities in the UK on different dates, organised by UCAS. For details, see: http://www.ucasevents.com/conventions |
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