Thank you, A and C! Olly extends her New Year greetings, too.

By the way, we went out with the Mari Lwyd on Nos Galan, New Year's Eve - to the Nos Galan races at Mountain Ash. For those of you who don't know, the Nos Galan races commemorate Wales' greatest runner, Guto Nyth Bran, who lived at Llanwynno. Guto, who lived way back in the 19th century. Legends tell how he ran to Newport and back before the kettle boiled. Guto ran his greatest, and last, race when he beat challengers - but wellwishers slapped him on the back, and it proved too much for his heart. He dropped dead. This year's "mystery runners" were three members of the Welsh rugby squad, who were cheered on by thousands of spectators - and the Mari paraded before all of them.

On New Year's Day, we made the annual pilgrimage to Llangynwyd, that most beautiful of villages, to see the Mari Lwyd make her entrance. The Old House is one of the oldest pubs in Wales. Cynwyd Evans, who died years ago, was the last of the old Mari party left alive, and he used to delight the regulars with his quick wit and his amazing memory of the "pwnco", the traditional verses. Cwmni Dawns Caerdydd revived it, and it has become part of the pub's tradition. Amazing, large, cheap meals too!