July 2012
2 posts
Interesting August Folklore
1 August is traditionally known as Lammas Day and, although not necessarily observed on this day, was meant to coincide with the first reapings of wheat. The name ‘Lammas’ comes from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘hlafmaesse’, meaning ‘loaf mass’. The festival of Lammas marks the beginning of the harvest, when traditionally farmers would make loaves of bread from the...
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Interesting July Folklore
Considering the weather we have been experiencing lately, let’s hope the old adage
‘If the first of July it be rainy weather, ‘twill rain more or less for four weeks together’
does not hold true!
In the early Roman calendar, July was the fifth month in the year and was therefore called ‘Quintillius’ (meaning ‘fifth’) until it was renamed...
June 2012
1 post
Interesting June Folklore
The first week in June sees the famous Horse Fair take place in Appleby in Cumbria, the greatest gathering of the year for travellers and Gypsies in the UK. In the old days horses would be driven through the crowded streets of the town but this has been banned for safety reasons. Nowadays the horses are ridden into the local river for a wash and swim and thousands of spectators gather on the...
May 2012
1 post
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Interesting May Folklore
There are a great many traditional customs associated with May Day and it has been celebrated one way or another since the Middle Ages.
As in most Northern countries, May Day (or Garland Day) marked the end of the winter and was honoured through time with music, dancing and games.
In the early twentieth century greenery was collected by children to make garlands and there would then be a...
April 2012
3 posts
Offbeat London
Geoffrey Fletcher was born in Lancashire in 1923 and arrived in London in 1945 to study at the Slade School of Art. He loved to roam the city day and night and became adept at quickly and accurately capturing everyday street life in his sketchbook before adding final touches in a local nearby cafe.
In 1958 he was offered a job with the Daily Telegraph on a column called ‘London Day by...
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Great Graffiti in Spitalfields
Three great pictures of Spitalfields street art taken last week in March 2012:
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Interesting April Folklore
No-one knows how April came by its name, but it may have come from the Latin word ‘aperire’, to open. April is, after all, the month when buds open and Spring begins, but only in the Northern hemisphere of course. Anglo Saxons called April ‘Eastremonath’ which is where the word ‘Easter’ comes from. Eastre or Ostara was the Saxon goddess of the Dawn and...
