If one is Welsh, this is the Feast Day of the nation’s patron saint, Saint David. Time to put leeks in the band of your hat. Or you could just wait a couple of weeks and opt for the less embarrassing shamrock of your Celtic kin, the Irish (St Patrick).

It was a bit premature, but I watched an intensely Welsh movie, produced by Euan Lloyd, a Welshman, featuring Welsh actors Richard Burton (born Richard Jenkins) and, Kenneth Griffith. The film, Thr Wild Geese, is something of an action-adventure cult film, but I remember it for its ties to Wales.

Since my Christian name is David, I also remember that the Russians celebrate the Saint’s Day of one’s patron saint just as we celebrate birthdays. Now I don’t know if that means that, if you go to The Cheesecake Factory in Moscow, the waitstaff serenades you, but the Russians do sing in chorus an awful lot.

Interestingly, the Welsh are also known for their tradition of choral music. So that’s how I tied those two threads together, Russia and Wales. Pretty neat, huh?