I've always wondered why the financial year appeared so far out of sync with everything else; the calendar year, the school year etc etc.... So, I did a little research and it appears that maybe it's the financial yaer that's always been the same and everything else that's moved around it!!

In 45BC Julius Caesar set the New Year at the Spring Equinox, at that time the 25th March., hence why we have 'SEPTember' (7th), 'OCTober', 'NOVember' (9th) and 'DECember' (10th). By 325AD at the Council of Nicea, the Equinox had wandered back to the 21st March, where it was set, but the Tax and Legal year remained the 25th

The reason why the end of the financial year is the 5th April goes back to the year 1751. In 1751 England had also become adrift with other countries in Europe with its calendar keeping. It was out of sync by eleven days, which made international trade difficult. It was clear that England had to adopt a new system and it moved from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1751/2. The eleven days were taken out of September 1751 and the year ended on December 31st. 1752 began on January 1st.

Not everyone was happy with this decision and banks, one of the most traditional and conservative of all establishments, refused to fall in line. Not only did they not recognise that the year now began on January 1, they also refused to accept that the eleven days in September had been eliminated from their calendar. So, they regarded their year as starting on 25 March – which everyone else regarded as being 11 days further on – on the 5 April. And so it has been ever since.

It's St Davids Day or Dydd Gwyl Dewi once again!! It's not quite the same celebrating St Davids day in the office; the girls never dress up and the guys never have leek fights! I was brought up in St Davids, so St Davids Day was quite a big deal for us as children! We used to dress up in our Welsh Lady costumes and head down to St Davids cathedral for a sing song and a story or two. Much of what I learnt about St Davids I've forgotten, much to my regret. Dewi was born near Capel Non (Non's chapel) on the South-West Wales coast near the present city of Saint David. We know a little about his early life - he was educated in a monastery called Hen Fynyw, his teacher being Paulinus, a blind monk. He founded a monastery at Glyn Rhosyn (Rose Vale) on the banks of the small river Alun where the cathedral city of St. David stands today. The monastic brotherhood that Dewi founded was very strict, the brothers having to work very hard besides praying and celebrating masses. They had to get up very early in the morning for prayers and afterwards work very hard to help maintain life at the monastery, cultivating the land and even pulling the plough. Many crafts were followed - beekeeping, in particular, was very important. The monks had to keep themselves fed as well as the many pilgrims and travellers who needed lodgings. They also had to feed and clothe the poor and needy in their neighbourhood. St David's Day, as celebrated today, dates back to 1120, when Dewi was canonised by Pope Callactus the Second, and March 1st was included in the Church calendar. After Dewi's canonisation, many pilgrimages were made to St. David's, and it was reported that two pilgrimages there equalled one to Rome, and three pilgrimages one to Jerusalem. March 1st was celebrated until the Reformation as a holy day. Many churches are dedicated to Dewi, and some to his mother Non.