This year’s St David’s Day dinner was the best attended yet, and what an enjoyable evening!
Eighty four people attended our event on 1st March at Gerrards Cross Golf Club. We all gathered about 6:30 for a glass of bubbly and this year Gwyndaf provided name badges, which were particularly helpful for our newer members (or people like me who can always remember a face, but not always the name to go with it).
The meal included a really delicious Welsh lamb steak, preceded by a prawn tart and finished off with a good old fashioned sponge pudding with custard.
After the meal we were entertained by the lovely Rhiannon Llewellyn accompanied at the piano by Peter Foggit.
Rhiannon told us tales about her background (including Wales & Chalfont St Peter) and the fact that she used to be taught by Jayne Pegler.
A wonderful operatic soprano, Rhiannon will this year be the guest soloist for the London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs at the Royal Albert Hall. She gave a charming and captivating performance covering a varied programme, ranging from Puccini’s La Boheme to Gershwin’s Summertime. I think that most of the men in the audience liked the pieces where she played the ‘vamp’ and teased various gentlemen in the room singing amorously at them (soprano/lap dancer she says in a recent tweet).
Jonathan Pegler thanked the pair, Rhiannon was presented with a bouquet of flowers, and Peter with a bottle of wine.
Afterwards everyone gathered around the piano where song sheets were distributed and Jonathan played many of our old favourites.
Overall – an excellent evening of singing!
This can’t be the place!
We were conducted around the Castle by a lovely Scottish Lady who pointed out architectural detail, an open Guard robe complete with seated man and sound effects (!!), and the significance of the Castle to protect the South from an advancing army of Llywelyn ap Grufydd, which threat was removed in 1282 when he was killed. Not even with the assistance of men in the party could the massive leaning tower be pushed back into a vertical position!!
A relaxing start to the next day at 9:30 am saw us in the Market Town of Y Bont-faen (Cowbridge), again in great weather, to enjoy the picturesque buildings, the fine Physic Garden with its herbs and medicinal plants, and antique memorabilia.
Had we had a best hat parade I would have given my gents vote to Bob Ford’s – what style! The ladies too had brought hats but most carried them in so I didn’t see too many being worn, but Pam Britton wore hers with grace. We mingled over drinks to catch up on gossip, using “ein hiaith” where we could, whilst Jean Owen and Muriel Knight distributed small posies of flowers which they’d brought along to brighten up the tables. 
Janet John had brought along a bubble making machine which created a party spirit as the bubbles danced their way through the tents until their all too brief existence came to an end as they drifted into more solid things.
Irene Powell said one can get square bubbles these days! What good are the corners?
And good he is too! Watch out John Breese and Jonathan Pegler, there’s competition about. 
So we had a few songs to finish with. Colin led the singing with laser-like precision on the top notes, whilst Jonathan – recently returned from an operatic course in Italy – provided the harmony.
Liz Seely showed us how to fold the cloths and tents to perfection.
The famous Wildflower Meadow Garden started with a seed mix nicknamed the ‘Gloucestershire Farmers’ Nightmare’.
