St Davids Day or Dydd Gwyl Dewi our national saints day - falls on Thursday, March 1st. When I was a child it involved dressing up in Welsh costume and sitting through the interminable school eisteddfod, a festival of music and poetry with only a few talented entries, amid a smell of decaying daffodils and leeks! Zoom on a few years and I was working in London, proudly wearing my daffodil to work always a conversation starter. Now Im back in Wales, my own children are off to school in their tall black hats and I dont wear a daffodil. Not because I no longer celebrate my Welshness just I dont feel I need to make a public statement any longer now that Im home.

Privately therell be fresh daffodils on the table and a special Welsh meal on Thursday night followed by concert going at the weekend. Professionally its a case of stand back and wait for the tidal wave of research requests. OK maybe not quite a tidal wave but Im expecting at last ten times more requests than on an ordinary week. Its as if St Davids Day reminds people of their Welsh heritage and inspires them to dust down the family tree.

This year the feel good factor of inspired by the mild weather and early spring flowers together with success on the rugby field has gone to my head and Im offering free research for three lucky family historians. Entries to the free draw have to be made by 09:00 GMT on Monday 5th March. Details on how to enter can be found at http://tinyurl.com/stdavid-draw