ON MY MIND

SO in 2022 we have another opportunity to repeat the habits of the past and the failings of a lifetime and to experience New Year resolutions going in one year and out the other.

There were many global mishaps in 2021 and locally more gates than in an airport. We had, Patelgate (alleged bullying), Carriegate (flat refurbishment), Hancockgate (PPE and hanky panky), Patersongate (lobbying), Coxgate (second jobs), Sleazegate (how long have you got?).

So it would have been easy to miss the UN announcement proclaiming 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables. It aimed to promote the benefits of their consumption and examine sustainable production and trade.

Unfortunately, carrot cake and blackberry tart didn’t count but Wales will always be a leader with its national emblem, the leek. Part of the ancient Egyptian diet and a favourite vegetable of Emperor Nero, leeks are rich in vitamins A and K and manganese and ‘excite the senses’, whatever that means.

Legends about the origin of the Welsh emblem are many. One is reflected in Shakespeare’s Henry V as the ‘ancient tradition’ when in 1346 Edward the Black Prince defeated the French at the Battle of Crécy with Welsh archers fighting bravely in a field of leeks ‘wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps’.

As a reminder of their bravery and loyalty the Welsh began to wear a leek in their caps every St David’s Day. The Elizabethan poet Michael Drayton stated that it was a tribute to Dewi Sant who ate only leek when he was fasting and may be the first example of social distancing as a result of its pungency.

A more comfortable companion than the Scottish thistle, more useful than the Irish shamrock and more robust than the English rose, I quite like the idea of a humble root vegetable to represent Wales. Indeed, I was intrigued to read, from the CEO of Global Welsh, of the business prowess of Welsh people throughout the world which he attributed to a “lack of ego, natural humour, humility and the warmth of the Welsh character”.