By Huw Le Lytle

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Today is St David’s Day!

St David is the Patron Saint of Wales. And I am of course a Welsh boy. St David was the chief bishop of South Wales in the 6th century, which is where my rescuers found me, some time later, while I was trying to make ends meet.

St David is famous for having made a hill and for providing his shoulder as a perch for a white dove. St David was also a vegetarian. So I like to think of him as a very early animal lover, with a gift for landscaping.

But another story is that St David was also the nephew of King Arthur, the legendary figure who led the Celts against the Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. Much of what we know or think we know of King Arthur’s life is the stuff of legend and the fabulous 12^th-century historiography of Geoffrey of Monmouth. But more recent histories have become available, including the 21^st-century account of King Arthur in Search of His Dog, by Raymond M Smullyan. King Arthur had many dogs, but it is said that his favourite dog was called Cavall. Although one shouldn’t have favourites.

But the way I like to think of St David is in terms of little acts of kindness. In his last sermon, St David said, “… do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about.” Sometimes, all someone needs is a smile, a hello, a text, a piece of cheese. That small difference can make all the difference. Kindness is in the details.

So on this St David’s Day, remember the small things! You just might make someone else’s St David’s Day too.

Do ye the little things in life / Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd.