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03/01/2003 Entry: "St. David's Day"

It is with great pride that I have not only come to claim my Welsh Heritage (many of you remember my quest for information on my great-grandparents, James Davies and Martha Harries of the Fynon Gron Farm near Welsh Hook north-west of Haverford West), but we are also celebrating it at Community United Methodist Church in Fruitland Park, Florida today. Actually, the celebration is accidental with the church. We wanted to schedule a covered dish dinner and presentation on last summer's pulpit exchange with Sketty and the Halls and March 1 worked best. Only after choosing the date did we remember that it was St. David's Day, but perhaps he had a hand in the selection of the day!

My wife, Debbie, is the organized one in the family and she has planned the following: People entering the building where our fellowship hall is located will have to turn into hall using a small roundabout, complete with directional signs in English and Welsh. Also, they will be greeted by a "Welcome to Wales" sign in English and Welsh complete with the dragon. Place mats will have a map of Wales and symbols of the country printed on them. Welsh music will be playing in the background and displays of Welsh spoons, the Flag, photos and even laverbread will be there for the viewing. Debbie is even planning to have someone play the piano and have our folks sing a hymn with a familiar title only to discover that the tune is a Welsh tune (we had that happen a couple times). We've also condensed our several hours of video into a 30 minute run through Swansea, Mumbles, Gower, Caerphilly, St. Fagans, the Fair Trade program at St. Paul's, Cardiff and, of course, a little bit of London, Bristol, Paris and Dover. (The video also stars many of our friends from Sketty - hope that's alright) Debbie is even attempting to bake Welsh Cakes as part of the offering tonight and she found actual leeks to display and help keep evil spirits and parishoners away.

So, pray for us at about 10 p.m. Sketty time, for that is when this whole Fruitland Park celebration of St. David's Day begins.

From our home to all of yours, Happy St. David's Day! Bore Da.

Ivan The Crank