public function render($name, $value = null, $attributes = array(), $errors = array())
  {
    // convert value to an array
    $default = array('year' => null, 'month' => null, 'day' => null);
    if (is_array($value))
    {
      $value = array_merge($default, $value);
    }
    else
    {
      // this bit checks if $value = [the integer of $value] - if so its a timestamp (like u get from mktime or strtotime)
      //   and use it direct (as the date function is used below which uses a timestamp).
      //   otherwise it uses strtotime($value) as $value comes from the db and strtotime is awesome and interprets
      //   loads of different types of strings - importantly this returns a timestamp

      $value = (string) $value == (string) (integer) $value ? (integer) $value : strtotime($value);


      // we cant use timestamps since they are the num of seconds since 1970, so we have to change all of this too: -------
      if (false === $value)
      {
        $value = $default;
      }
      else
      {
        $value = array('year' => date('Y', $value), 'month' => date('n', $value), 'day' => date('j', $value));
      }
      ////---------------------------------


      // here we need to produce an array like :
          $value = array('year' => xx, 'month' => xx, 'day' => yy);

      // from a string from the db that will look like: "YYYY-MM-DD"

    }

    /// the rest can be left the same:  --------------------------
    $date = array();
    $emptyValues = $this->getOption('empty_values');

    $date['%day%'] = $this->renderDayWidget($name.'[day]', $value['day'], array('choices' => $this->getOption('can_be_empty') ? array('' => $emptyValues['day']) + $this->getOption('days') : $this->getOption('days'), 'id_format' => $this->getOption('id_format')), array_merge($this->attributes, $attributes));
    $date['%month%'] = $this->renderMonthWidget($name.'[month]', $value['month'], array('choices' => $this->getOption('can_be_empty') ? array('' => $emptyValues['month']) + $this->getOption('months') : $this->getOption('months'), 'id_format' => $this->getOption('id_format')), array_merge($this->attributes, $attributes));
    $date['%year%'] = $this->renderYearWidget($name.'[year]', $value['year'], array('choices' => $this->getOption('can_be_empty') ? array('' => $emptyValues['year']) + $this->getOption('years') : $this->getOption('years'), 'id_format' => $this->getOption('id_format')), array_merge($this->attributes, $attributes));

    return strtr($this->getOption('format'), $date);
  }