What’s happen to St David’s Day?

It’s St David’s Day! March 1st, the national day of Wales. You won’t see much of a celebration around the country its must be said it is a bit of a damp squib.

It’s nothing like I remember has back when I was a kid. Back then the girls dressed in Welsh traditional dress and still today. For the boys back when I was in infants school we would be St David with a sword and shield, but if you were unlucky you would turn up as a miner. More people were out and out wearing a leek or daffodils today you will be luck to see any.

It is St David's Day

There has handy been any kind of a build-up I had noticed leading up today, and I live in the capital of Wales. You would be led to believe it was just another day going by the front pages of my local papers. There is a bit of a march through Cardiff City Centre to Cardiff Bay and the Welsh Assembly building, the crowds will be sparse like most years.

Thinking back, I find it strange we went to school ‘all war’ like when St David or Dave to his mate was a holy man not a knight. So why sword and shield I have no idea, but It was fun. Mum would get us plastic sword and shield for Hopkins on James St, which always was a bit of a disappointment.

The sword would never last, it would always bend at the hilt and go all floppy. I was always envious of my mate Peter Owen, his dad a dab hand with wood, and would make him a wooden sword and shield, he would soon lay waste to the plastic swords brigade. If you were to send your kid to school all tooled up with a sword and shield (Plastic) the armed police and helicopter would descend in seconds. No health and safety back then.

It would be a half day on school days and no lesson, class actives, stories, singing and poems. We would always get a rendition of Matilda…

Matilda told such Dreadful Lies,
It made one Gasp and Stretch one's Eyes;
Her Aunt, who, from her Earliest Youth,
Had kept a Strict Regard for Truth,
Attempted to Believe Matilda:
The effort very nearly killed her,

Read more at http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/matilda.html#RPDCQgUZssrzPWfV.99

To this day it is still one of my favourite poems Today the girls still have the Welsh dress and the boys and some girls don the awful Welsh Rugby shirt which is a disgrace. I made my sons wear Cardiff City tops.