POOR weather did not dampen the spirits of hundreds of participants of a commemorative fun day.

Hundreds of people turned up to the Dave Smithies Fun Day held last month in Dolgellau which raised another £6,000 in memory of the much-missed sportsman.

Dave Smithies, a popular figure in Dolgellau, lost his life in 2006 and is commemorated every year by his family at the ‘Dave Smithies Fun Day’ held on the Marian Mawr.

This was the tenth edition of the fun day and was hoped to be the “biggest yet”.

Unfortunately intermittent showers and stormy weather curtailed the crowds but the event was still hailed a success by Greg, Dave’s brother.

This year the Smithies family raised money for Ty Gobaith in honour of another young Dolgellau resident who passed away in tragic circumstances.

Deian Savage was just five years old when he passed away in 2016 after being born with a congenital condition which affected his growth and also caused epilepsy and affected his immune system.

Greg was philosophical about the fun day.

“It was a really important day for us,” Greg told the Cambrian News.

“It’s a hard day but seeing everyone there really warms the heart, there was a really touching moment when it rained and everyone crammed into the David Smithies memorial stand to shelter from the weather.

“[Deian’s father} Roger also gave a lovely speech, amazing really.

“I just wanted to thank everyone who turned up, the sponsors, all the football teams, Owain Williams who hosted the kids session, and all my friends and family.

“We couldn’t do it without you.”

The Smithies Fun Day has now raised nearly £90,000 over the last decade for a variety of good causes.

This year’s winners of this year’s Evans Electrical Dave Smithies Cup was Hit and Run FC. The winner of the Automax Racing Dave Smithies Shield was the Letting Boys, and the winner of the Torrent Walk Hotel Dave Smithies Bowl was ‘About to get Messi’

“It was nice to see a team from Dol win it this year,” concluded Greg.

“It’s usually Barmouth and I get a lot of stick form the lads!”