beans + format

Hi

I'm trying to format a Timestamp, in the first case (from a form) it is going well

<logic:iterate id="row" name="transactions"> 
	<bean:write name="row" property="transactiondate" format="d MMM"/>
</logic:iterate>

But if I include it in the request, it is not formatting
<bean:write name="currentDate" format="d MMM"/>
Does anyone knows why? Do I have to include it in a form?

Another problem is that I'm trying to set this date to the right locale.
I'm under the impression that putting <html:html locale="true"> would do the trick.
but that's not working?

tia Peter