Groups and individuals all over Tenby and the surrounding area are busily preparing for the Festival of Daffodils at St. Johns Church which opens at the end of the month.
Locals and visitors alike will be very pleased to know that Winifred and the other ladies will be 'manning the griddle' as hey prepare thousands of Welsh cakes to tempt their appetites. Every morning, from Thursday, February 27, to Saturday, March 1, the ladies will be selling freshly cooked Welsh cakes at the chapel doors.
On Saturday, March 1, these can be enjoyed along with a cup of coffee at the coffee morning in the chapel schoolroom, being organised by Mrs. Eluned Brown, and on Saturday evening, there will be a delicious cawl to enjoy before the 'Noson Lawen' entertainment begins under the direction of Ron Hurlow. Only 60 tickets will be issued for the Noson Lawen.
On Sunday, March 2, after a service of Celtic Worship, there will be a Faith Lunch in the large, newly decorated schoolroom.
But the festival is not only about food! It is about flowers, about music, praise and worship.
Mrs. Ann Maggs and her team of gifted helpers will begin preparation for the decoration of the sanctuary on Monday, February 24, with thousands of daffodils arriving on Tuesday, February 25.
It will be 'all hands to the wheel' on Tuesday and Wednesday as those who are 'no good with flowers' will be taught by Ann how to prepare and fix the 'in memoriam' posies, and there will be a chance for helpers to watch the experts at work and enjoy a time of fun and fellowship.
The programme for Thursday is now confirmed as items by the Infants School in the morning, from around 10 am to 12 noon, and an item by the Junior School children from 1.30-2 pm. Due to the commitments to their own school production at Greenhill that week, there can be no musical presentation by the secondary school in the evening, as the organisers had hoped.
On Friday, the main event of the day is a Ladies Network rally from 2.30 pm onwards. This service will continue with tea in the schoolroom afterwards (Mrs. Neate would be grateful for donations of sandwiches and cakes for this event).
In the evening of that day, the Noson Lawen will begin at 6 pm.
On Saturday morning, to enhance the coffee morning and Welsh cakes, Tenby and District Band will be performing a lively accompaniment, and in the afternoon from 3.30 pm the Irish Dancers will express their delight in dance.
Sunday will be the final day of the festival. The church will be open as on the other days from 10 am to 5 pm, but on this special day it will re-open at 7 pm in readiness for the Cymanfa Ganu which will begin at 8 pm.
Last year and the year before, this proved to be a wonderful opportunity for everyone who enjoys singing, to join in with the singing of some of the best hymns ever written. In the main, the hymn tunes will be Welsh ones, though most of the congregational hymns will be sung in English.
Tenby Male Choir will be singing two or three items, as a choir, as will the Cymrodorion Ladies. It will be a happy and joyful occasion - a fitting ending to a Welsh festival celebrating our patron saint.