Funtime | Pilgrim's Perch

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!*

Joyful Midsummer in the Garden

It always seems a bit strange that we celebrate midsummer only two days after the summer solstice. This year feels particularly odd as summer has been a long time arriving in the northern hemisphere – only now are the winter woollies being put away and sunny summery clothes take centre stage.

Children on beach in summer clothing — *Summer arrives at last*

The days are at their longest, the sun feels welcomingly warm and gardens that were held back by spring chill are now bursting into life as though making up for lost time.

The garden gets going... — *Summer blooms*

Before the change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752 St Barnabas Day fell close to midsummer and there’s piece of folklore that goes like this:

Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright
	The longest day and the shortest night.
	When St Barnabas smiles both night and day,
	Poor ragged robin blooms in the hay.

Ragged robin is a wild flower of the hay meadows and haymaking is at its peak at this time of the year. Good weather is essential to ensure the hay is harvested in peak condition and stored dry for winter fodder. St Barnabas day marks the first day of haymaking – the old country saying was, ‘On the day of St Barnabas, put the scythe to the grass.’

A field with hay gathered in — *Hay making gets under way*

The heat from the midsummer sun is thought to imbue herbs with their healing qualities so this is the day when they are gathered at dawn and then put to dry for use in simple herbal remedies or hung at doors and windows to ward off harmful spirits.

Gathering herbs at dawn — *Gathering herbs*

St John’s Day falls on 24th June and celebrates midsummer. There is an old belief that, ‘If the cuckoo sings after St John, the harvest will be late.’

The cuckoo starts to sing in April — *A cuckoo – the traditional herald of summer*

Usually the cuckoo arrives in April, starts singing in the middle of the month and stops in late June – so there appears to be a grain of truth in the observation that if the cuckoo is still singing after midsummer then the season is certainly late and the harvest will be late too – potentially serious if it coincides with the less reliable weather of early autumn.