We held our annual St David’s Day Dinner on Saturday 1st March at Gerrards Cross Golf Course, as this has been so successful in the past. This year was no different.
We gathered at 6:30 to be greeted with a glass of fizz or a soft drink, and this gave us the chance to catch up with old friends and to talk of anything except rugby.
This year we were particularly pleased to be joined by Bob Ford (who was chairman when I first joined in 2010) and Jayne Pegler as well as Peter & Pat Chapman, who had travelled from their home in Brecon to be with us. It was also good to see Ernest Morris back with us after his accident.
Peter and Pat’s journey was not the longest though, as Glenys Newton’s son , Gareth, was visiting from Canada and came along for the occasion.
Gwyndaf also had a guest, Gareth Morgan, Chairman of the Slough Welsh Society, with his wife Janet.
There were over 60 of us in total and we all wandered over to look at the table plan to see which table Gwyndaf had assigned us .
Before we sat down for dinner, Ann Evans said grace.
As usual with Gerrards Cross Golf Club, the food was very good, with the most popular choices being Beetroot and Orange Gravadlax and Lamb Tagine followed by Merlot poached Pears with Blackcurrant Sorbet.
After the meal, Gwyndaf introduced our speaker for the evening, Sarah Green, the MP for Chesham and Amersham.
Sarah was born and grew up in Corwen, Clwyd and speaks Welsh fluently.
She greeted us in Welsh, before talking about her early life going to school in Bala and then on to Aberystwyth University, where she was chair of the Welsh Young Liberals (IR Cymru).
Her early work was in market research, before she started her own marketing and communications company, working as a freelance and consultant.
Sarah stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in general elections in Wales, before the death of Dame Cheryl Gillan triggered the 2021 by-election in Chesham and Amersham.
She said that she was lucky to be able to stand for the by-election, as she had a job where she could put things on hold at comparatively short notice while she canvassed.
She then described going to parliament for the first time as being like being a new pupil at school, getting used to the atmosphere in the House.
At the last general election the borders of the Chesham and Amersham constituency changed to include Gerrards Cross, but Sarah won again and returned to Parliament.
This time there were lots of new MPs, and she could understand their sense of wonder and confusion over the first few days.
Sarah, while explaining that much of the work in parliament in unseen, added that it is not the Punch and Judy like exchanges seen on television, but in the work of the various committees, where politicians work together that matter.
Finally Sarah ended by saying that she felt proud to have worked on the Public Accounts Committee and to have worked on NHS finance questions.
Gwyndaf John thanked Sarah for her talk and Ann Evans presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
John Breese then took to the piano and played the National Anthem, followed by a number of old favourites and everyone joined in using the song sheets provided.
The evening finished about 10:30pm, another successful St David’s Day celebration.
There are more photographs of the evening here.
All 50 guests were greeted with a glass of bubbly or soft drink – as appropriate. The lounge provided an excellent space to catch up with old friends and indeed some guests from the principality – Whitland to be precise. I was delighted to meet with the brother of one of my classmates at Narberth Grammar School. Our mutual aquaintances were numerous; a joyful start to the evening.
As usual Gerrards Cross Club did us proud with a very good 3 course meal; the leek and potato soup was so good I thought my mum must have had a hand in it. There were also many compliments directed at the sewin ( sea trout) – main course as well as the suitable lamb dish. The staff looked after us well and added to the friendly ambience of the evening.
This year our St David’s Day Dinner was a bit different. There was no dinner!
welcome from our Chairman, followed by two 10-minute breakout sessions where we were able to chat to about half a dozen other members and catch up on local news.
Dr. Williams told us about the early church in Wales and how there was a surprising amount of movement of people and ideas between Wales, Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany. The Christians of the time (500 to 700 AD) thought themselves the successors of the Roman tradition, as opposed to the largely pagan influx of Angles and Saxons. Gravestones of the time frequently contain complex Latin verses and Hebrew Christian names.
There were very many Saints in Wales, and one of the reasons for this was that at the time, there was no central control from Rome and sainthood was determined locally in Celtic churches and was often given to the founder of an ecclesiastical settlement (llan). It wasn’t until the middles ages that there was a central role in determining sainthood.
We finished off the evening with Jonathan Pegler playing the National Anthem and a selection of hymns.
This year we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the Society’s inaugural event, at which the founding members had sat down for a special St David’s Day dinner. After we’d taken our seats Ann Evans recalled that first meal she’d arranged for a small group of friends who shared a Welsh heritage. Ralph Broomby reminisced that at the time he was doubtful the idea of a Welsh Society would take root. But it had grown and thrived. He congratulated our Life President and founder, and also the members of the Society on its continuing vitality.
Originally from Bangor, Glain’s resume showed that she had studied in Paris and won various international awards, as well as graduating with distinction from her postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Unsurprisingly therefore her repertoire for the evening was varied, and every piece beautifully played. The music she played on the evening was:
Of course, the evening would not be complete without our traditional sing-song, so John Breese took his place at the piano. Despite his very topical concern that an assemblage giving full voice might risk spreading viruses, Barrie Reece could not resist once John started to play Calon Lan and he was soon joining in with gusto.
When we found our places at the tables, Gwyndaf John said grace in Welsh, but before he did so he explained the origin of the poem and the rules of the poetic style in which it was written (somewhat similar to a Japanese Haiku), giving it its unique style.
