St David, the patron saint of Wales was one of the greatest and most prominent figures of the 6th Century. He founded scores of religious communities and is the only native-born patron saint. Saint David died on the 1^st of March 589, he was canonised by the pope in the 12^th century and St David’s Day has been celebrated ever since. St David’s last word were recorded as being “Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.” Gwnewch y pethau bychain, do the little things is a well-known phrase in Wales.

Here at Layston we celebrated Saint David and all things Welsh by joining in a whole day of themed events. We started our preparations at the weekend, designing and creating decorations, and then began St David’s Day with a rather interesting discussion about Saint David and the great work that he did. I was not over familiar with his story, so it was fascinating to hear it after all these years.

At lunchtime we were served some traditional Welsh food, I particularly enjoyed the Welsh Cakes, they were a bit like a cross between a fruit scone, a biscuit and an American style pancake but oddly tasted nothing like any of the above. They were delicious and went down a treat with everyone here.

Following our history lesson and lunch, we had a singalong, we attempted the Welsh National Anthem and then sat back with a cup of tea and enjoyed the dulcet tones of Sir Tom Jones. It was a really enjoyable day.