I went to Kidwelly, or Cidweli, yesterday. It was not just for a 'jolly' but to meet 95 years old Eirwen Smith.

Mrs Smith is a relative of Nita Sybil Evans, the writer of the handwritten cookery book thatI bought twenty five years ago from a market stall.

Eirwen is a delightful lady and Kidwelly is a lovely old town with a castle.

Years ago, Kidwelly was known by different names, includingCatwelli.

After the Great Plague,it is believed the first surviving creature to walk the streets was a cat.

As a symbol of salvation, the cat was honoured by being included in the town's coat of arms.

Dylan Thomas must have been aware of this legend for, in 'Under Milkwood', Captain Cat's boat was the SS Kidwelly.

'Hen Fenyw Fach Cidweli' is a nursery rhyme about a little old woman who sells black sweets (losin du). She counts ten for a halfpenny, but eleven for the narrator.

Like most rhymes, this is related to an actual incident. The 'old woman'might have been Hawise de Londres, daughter of Thomas de Londres, Lord of Kidwelly in the thirteenth century.

Hawise was the rightful owner of the castle (the Castellan) but, in those lawless times,it was snatched fromher.

Disguised as an old woman, she entered the castle to sell sweets, hoping to glean information that might help her regain the castle. Hawise's story has been immortalised for seven hundred years and more in a child's rhyme.