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Starting the Journey

Hello!

Life is a fascinating journey; we may set out with a plan – route map, itinerary and compass (or sat nav) at the ready but we never know what’s round the next corner.

Like the pilgrims of old, who’d set out on a quest to find what was important to them – it might be a place or a person – they had to undertake the journey.

As do we all.

Path along mountain ridge with hills in the distance. — ‘The steep and rugged pathway…’

There’s a proverb that says, ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,’ first found in the Tao Te Ching, a classical Chinese Taoist text usually credited to Laozi and probably written between the 4th and 6th century BC.

As with every journey we need to take time out to refresh and re-energise.

To ‘perch’ every now and then.

I hope that the posts you’ll find on this site will help you relax, refresh and re-invigorate so you can continue your own amazing pilgrimage.

Predicting the Weather at Martinmas

November heralds the season of drawing down and drawing in. The clocks have gone back; the evenings are suddenly so much darker. Countryside and garden lose leaves, blooms and colour. All seems to be shrinking in on itself. If a cold snap takes hold we hasten indoors. If those grey lightless days have charge we feel like taking cover and hiding away.

A gloomy grey day in November — *Fog darkens the days as autumn draws on*

There’s still the possibility, however, that we might be blessed with a brief Indian summer – a spell of mild and sunny autumnal weather falling specifically on the nine days between Martinmas, on the 11th November, and 20th November. Bringing sunny and hazy days this interlude is also known as a ‘Martinmas Summer.’

Small boy playing in autumn leaves — *A child makes the most of a sunny autumn day*

This welcome phenomenon is said to influence the direction of the wind and therefore the severity of the forthcoming winter.

‘If the wind is southeast on Martinmas, it will stay there till Candlemas’

so we’ll be in for a mild winter. But – if the wind has veered round to the north this suggests that we’ll be in for a hard winter. However, other folklore says that if the weather is warm on St Martin’s Day, then a harsh winter will follow. So, take your pick…

Snow covered roofs peep out from piles of snow — *A sparkling day in the midst of a harsh winter*

Saint Martin’s Day or Martinmas is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated on 11th November. Martin of Tours (died 397) was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop in Gaul. He is best known for cutting his cloak in half with his sword and giving half to a beggar who was dressed in only rags in the depth of winter. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ wearing the very same half-cloak.

A soldier in only half a cloak - the other portion has been given to someone in need. — *Martin of Tours gave half his cloak to a beggar*

In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it was an important festival in many parts of Europe, particularly Germanic-speaking regions. It marked the end of the harvest season –

Martinmas heralds the grape harvest — *An abundant grape harvest*

and the beginning of the “winter revelling season”.

A street party in full swing — *Street parties get going with a swing*

In Welsh mythology Marie Trevelyan recorded that if the hooting of an owl was heard on St Martin’s Day it was seen as a bad omen for that district.

Owls at Martinmas aren't always a good sign... — *Seeing an owl at Martinmas might be a bad omen*

If a meteor was seen, then there would be trouble for the whole nation.

A meteor streaks across the evening sky — *A meteor can signify a cataclysmic event*

In the 6th century, the church called for fasting on all days, except Saturdays and Sundays, from Saint Martin’s Day to Epiphany. However, this period was shortened to begin on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and became the current Advent within a few centuries.

The candles and conifers of Advent bring light to a dark time of the year. — *Advent draws nigh as November creeps to a close*

Do you like having fun? Do you like Weather?

Walking along the road to a small Scottish village some years ago the weather suddenly turned from bright, warm sunshine to chilly, driving rain. A passerby remarked that in those parts nobody ever went out without their waterproofs. We learned the lesson the hard way!

Two walkers on a path with uncertain weather — *Dodging the rain on a hilly path*

Today it’s often said that there’s no such thing as the wrong weather, only the wrong clothing. Muffled up in a warm coat or a hardy rain jacket it can be fun just to take the weather in one’s stride. And to enjoy it.

Person in coat protected against any weather — *Muffled against all weathers*

It seems to be a particularly British thing, our obsession with The Weather. Most conversations get round to it sooner or later. Very often it’s one of the first things we talk about – it provides such a rich ground for grumbles, obsession and speculation! It changes at the drop of a hat – even with today’s sophisticated computer technology and meteorological modelling the forecasters often fail to get their weather predictions spot on. And so, The Weather is never a dull subject.

Three lasses enjoy a picnic in a sunny meadow — *Picnickers enjoy a sunny day*

A sunny day can suddenly turn to…

Dramatic storm clouds threaten a complere change in the weather — *Storm clouds loom*

…a dramatically stormy day.

Indeed, the etiquette in polite society has long ruled that ‘The Weather’ is a safe topic of conversation when all else fails. In the 18th century novel Sense & Sensibility Jane Austen has one of her characters, Mrs Dashwood, say to her youngest daughter:

‘Hush, Margaret, if you can’t think of anything appropriate to say you will please restrict your remarks to the weather.’

A rainbow indicates a change in the weather — *Changeable weather*

Sometimes its easier to understand the weather than the times we live in. So we turn to a ‘safe’ subject. But even in Biblical times there was a tendency to focus on the weather rather than the social and political times the people were going through. Jesus challenged the people when he said,

 “When you see clouds growing bigger in the west, you say, ‘A rainstorm is coming.’ And soon it begins to rain. When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day.’ And you are right. You hypocrites! You can understand the weather. Why don’t you understand what is happening now?”

Then, as now, people were living in difficult times; what was going on in the wider world didn’t always make sense. And it may be that we suffer from confusion and muddle about what goes on in the world today. It is times like these when we perhaps need to focus on the simple things in life – those things we can’t do anything about but just confront head on, endure – and even, enjoy. In his book, That Hideous Strength, CS Lewis writes of a couple who make the most of whatever weather they encounter:

‘We both like Weather. Not this kind or that kind, but just weather. It’s a useful taste if one lives in England… Everyone begins as a child by liking Weather. You learn the art of disliking it as you grow up. Haven’t you ever noticed it on a snowy day? The grown-ups are all going about with long faces, but look at the children - and and the dogs? They know what snow’s made for.’

A couple and a dog have fun in the snow — *Enjoying the snow*

So, whatever the weather, wherever you are, enjoy it and make the most of it. It’ll change soon enough…

Weather turns good and bad. it never remains the same. — *After the sun, the rain; after the rain, the sun…*

Oh, for a happy and sunny St Bartholomew’s Day!

St Bartholomew’s Day comes on 24th August – 40 days after St Swithin’s Day. Both are folk lore predictors of weather. Maybe you remember the saying:

“St Swithin's day if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain
St Swithin's day if thou be fair
For forty days will rain na mair”

St Swithin's Day rain brings rain for the following forty days — *Forty days of rain predicted…*

How closely we’d all watch for rain or sun!

Less well known, perhaps, is the piece of folk lore surrounding St Bartholomew:

‘If St Bartholomew be clear, a prosperous autumn comes that year.’

Woman harvesting crops from vegetable garden — *A good harvest*

I rather like the saying, ‘All the tears that St Swithin can cry, St Bartelmy’s mantle will wipe dry…’

Child walking in field, all tears gone — *St Bartleby’s mantle will dry any tears…*

Bee keepers are also reminded that ‘On St Bartholomew’s day take the honey away.’

Honey potential! — *Beehives offer a fruitful harvest*

Honey is delicious when enjoyed on hot buttered toast – but it has numerous other benefits.

Honey - with a cup of tea, or used in many other ways — *The teatime jar of honey – full of possibilities*

In ancient times honey was used for embalming purposes but it also aids the living. Aristotle (around 350BC) undertook research into the healing and antiseptic properties of honey and Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, prescribed honey for sores and ulcers.

Scientific research into the properties of honey continues today — *Research into the benefits of honey*

Research continues today into the effects of honey on heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure and numerous other conditions – so we can rightly celebrate the honey harvest around St Bartholomew’s Day.

St Bartholomew - a day to celebrate the many properties of the wonderful bee! — *A day to celebrate the noble bee!*