I grew up on the Wirral, just across the dee from Clwyd, so Welsh was always a mysterious, magical presence in my youth, and I think helped to shape the way I view the world and have lived my life, as I explain in this piece (apologies for the shameless promotion!):

https://medium.com/pitfall/borderlands-are-the-best-lands-3a2392aaf639

BTW - I have now written my piece about shoe sizes in response to your hats, which is awaiting publication in The Pub. You are tagged in it, so will get an alert when it goes live. You would not believe the mathematical madness behind it all!