2.17. Russian winter in london

Read the text and learn what happened in Trafalgar Square last winter.

On the 15^lh of January 2005 a very strange thing happened in London. In Trafalgar Square, the centre of the British capital, it was impossible to hear English being spoken. Instead, there was the sound of the Russian lan­guage everywhere. The reason for this was that the Mayor of London and the Russian-British Cultural Association had decided to have a Russian Winter Festival in London. 500 per­formers, from folk dancers and singers to mod­ern pop and rock groups, came from all over Russia to appear on the large stage set up around Nelson's Column.

About 50,000 people came to Trafalgar Square to take part in the festival and to cele­brate the Old Russian New Year. Most of them were Russian people living in London but there were lots of British people too. The Mayor, Ken Livingstone, also came -- to open the festival and to eat some pirozhki.

The highlight of the festival was the Alexandrov Red Army Choir. The world-famous ensemble had prepared a special programme for British and Russian war veterans.

'It was magnificent,' said Phillip Clayton, a British war veteran who hadn't been to Russia since the war. 'I've come 200 miles from Wales to be here and I am happy; I enjoyed every minute.' Phillip is going to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War with other British and Russian veterans in Murmansk.

'I think today is wonderful,' said Ted Begley, another war veteran. 'It brings back good mem­ories; any veteran has bad memories of course, but it brings back the good memories of listening to choirs in Russia.' Ted hasn't been to Russia since he worked in Arkhangelsk for a year during the war, but he won two free Aeroflot tickets to Russia at the festival.

Not only war veterans enjoyed the Alexandrov Red Army Choir. Thousand of peo­ple, young and old, Russian and British, sang along to 'Kalinka' and 'Victory Day.'

The Russian Winter Festival had something for everyone. Children enjoyed Sergei Obraztsov's puppet show which performed throughout the day, watched street entertainers and had snowball fights with the 'snow' which covered the tops of the famous bronze lions (the snow was artificial, of course).

At 6 p.m. a recording of the Kremlin bells was broadcast, paper snow filled the square and everybody cried ‘S Novim Godom!'

Then the stage under Nelson's Column was taken by Russia's best pop and rock singers and groups, including Glukoza, Tantsy Minus, UmaTurman and others.

The party culminated in a beautiful show by Olympic figure skating champions Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva just down the road at the ice-rink set up in the yard of Somerset House.

And then all those who could skate took to the ice and enjoyed skating to the beautiful voice of Pelagea.

The event proved that Russian people living abroad care about their home country very much. They came to Trafalgar Square because they are very proud of being Russian, and they wanted to share some of their remarkable culture with British people.

Londoners liked the festival. Some of them even tried exotic Russian food for the first time. They were surprised to discover that dried fish (vobla) was so tasty, especially with beer! The English stallholder who was selling the vobla said, 'I don't even understand what it is that I am selling, but people are buying it, so I am happy!' Blini and pirozhki were very popular too: 28,000 Russian pies were sold and 10,000 pancakes eaten.

The festival was so successful that it is likely to become an annual event.

Exercise

Complete the sentences:

1. On the 15^lh of January 2005 ... ... ....

2. The Russian-British Cultural Association had decided to have ... ... ....

3. About 50,000 people ... .... ... ..

4. The highlight of the festival was .. ... .....

5. Phillip Clayton said ... .... ....

6. Children enjoyed ... .... .....

7. The party culminated in ... ... ...