Yesterday was a good day. It started with a very long lie-in - we surfaced around 10.30, over four hours later than our normal time. I managed to startle Carwyn the postman when he delivered to us, as I was still sitting there in my nightie when he turned up, rather than as normal either zooming round with the hoover or struggling with the Telegraph crossword, both activites usually undertaken fully clothed. Anyway, after some brunch, we toddled off into the day. We went to the Crychan Forest, north east of Llandovery. Our starting point was Esgair Fwyog car park and we were the only people there. The forest is full of old drovers routes and forest trails and is perfect for riding, biking and walking. I really would have enjoyed riding through it, as you could have gone miles without going anywhere a road. Another horse friendly feature was small enclosed corrals near the picnic areas, so your mount could be safely waiting while you had a barbecue. We had a long walk, and by the end which was uphill steeply on the way back, I was puffing like an old steam train, and quite tired and stiff. But it was a good feeling and I loved the forest and want to go back there. Some photos attached. What was also nice was there was no litter, no graffiti, no vandalism, no burnt out cars, broken glass, used condoms or fly-tipping. Bliss. The informative boards even had leaflet holders that contained dry, user-friendly leaflets with maps. Wow. I can recommend heartily.

After coming home, read the paper, had a gin and Andrew cooked some squid which was gorgeous. Served with a big mound of garlicky home made tsatsiki, which the woofs were delighted to finish. To follow, a coconut rice pudding. Andrew tried to get me to taste it, and I did try, but there is something about rice pudding - the smell, the texture, I just can't do it. Enjoyed some pleasantly mindless TV over the remains of our Sancerre (which was gorgeous) and an early night for all.

Today is St. David's Day, Dydd Dewi Sant, when we commemorate the patron saint of Wales. It brings happy memories of wearing my Welsh costume to school as a little girl, with a daffodil pinned on the front, and later in secondary school, all the boys would come in wearing leeks, with rivalry as whose was the biggest. Then they would start eating them, and soon the classrooms would reek of chewed, raw leeks. Delightful! There are some moves afoot to make St. David's Day a national holiday in Wales - I think this would be a good idea. When I was a child we were given a half day in school. My costume was very warm and comfortable. There was a red flannel skirt, a black and white striped flannel tunic, a white pinny, a very warm woollen shawl and on top a black straw flattened cockle pickers bonnet, as opposed to the more common black flower pot hat. With it would be a pair of woolly tights and my usual Start-rite school shoes. Assembly would be longer than usual, and the classrooms would be decorated with Welsh dragons, daffodils, leeks and maps of Wales.