Tuesday 16 July 2019

Yesterday


So.........Yesterday was St Swithin's Day, the weather here in Suffolk was overcast and chilly.......40 days like that I really don't want.........but hopefully the folklore about the 15th is just about rain.
The boiler came on for hot water after I'd had a shower, which is quite unusual because normally the two Solar Thermal water heating panels on the roof do their job without much help through the summer, shows how dull it's been over the last few days.

We don't have any churches dedicated to St Swithin in Suffolk but there are a few around the country.
Wickham "St Swithin" Berkshire | St Swithin (St Swithun ...
Picture of St Swithin in stained glass from internet (from a church in Berkshire)

At the bottom of this weeks page in my Country Wisdom and Folklore diary it says............
In 1315, on the day after the anniversary of the moving of St Swithin's body into the church, namely the 15th July, such was the deluge of rain, that rivers overflowed their banks to an awesome degree,submerging crops and rushing through houses, drowning men women and children. No survivor coud recall such a flood, nor such a famine that followed.
(Attributed to Robert De Graystone c 1336)

That was written nearly 400 years after the actual event because it was in 971 when the body of Swithin, the Saxon Bishop of Winchester who had died in 862 but had just been canonised, was moved into the cathedral.
Other stories from this time say it was the actual day of the moving of the bones when the rain started.
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Yesterday I discovered the netball World Cup is on TV this week. Has netball ever been on TV before? I can't remember seeing it and also can't remember the rules. I had no idea why the whistle kept being blown. I know we occasionally played it at Grammar school but  what time of year and whereabouts around the school the netball courts were I haven't a clue. We played hockey in winter and tennis in summer with a bit of swimming and athletics in there too, but where netball fitted in I have no idea. Did we play rounders? or was that just at primary school? the memory fails me. I wasn't at all sporty and hated and dreaded every minute spent in the gym or out on the fields. Now if we could have played table tennis, which I did at the Baptist Church Youth club, I might have enjoyed that time a lot more.

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Yesterday evening was small WI and we had a demonstration of wholefood cookery. Using just a electric frying pan and a electric grill the lady whipped up a whole load of dishes in 45 minutes. You could tell she was a trained cookery demonstrator. She said she'd once worked for the same company, demonstrating cookers,  as Mary Berry although Mary was several years older and they were in neighbouring counties. It all looked so delicious but we weren't allowed to taste any which was a bit disappointing - Health and Safety and Council rules she said!

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Yesterday I was given some exciting news and allowed to share.............Grandchild number 4 is due after Christmas!
Son and DiL are expecting a small brother or sister for youngest granddaughter Willow.
Goodness, that means four grandchildren........... all under 4 years old ...........that'll be fun!.....or chaos!

Back Tomorrow
Sue

29 comments:

  1. First - most important - congratulations on the grandma news. Hope your DIL has an uncomplicated pregnancy. Second- I can't ever remember netball on TV before. I loathed it at school, I was too short and everyone seemed to play"over my head". This was a disappointment to my Mum, who had been brilliant in her youth, and played in the School Team alongside her friend Blossom (who later became Mrs Max Bygraves) It is definitely becoming a summer of sport. Even if you're not a fan it does at least cheer people up, and take their minds off B*****!

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    1. I was useless at all sports - and only enjoyed tennis because there wasn't enough courts so we sometimes sat out!

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  2. Congratulations on the news Sue. It was my grandsons 33rd birthday yesterday so I always can remember St.Swithins day. We had school Hockey which I did not like but loved Rounders. Nice you got to see some different food to see.
    I hope you are back to your own self nothing worse than being under the weather when you have things to do.
    Hazel c uk

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    1. Thank you - yes I'm feeling nearly 100% - not quite buy getting there.

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  3. What wonderful news! Congratulations to all.
    I used to love netball although I was pretty useless at it - at all sports, in fact. It is nice to see women's sports being taken more seriously and given more airtime, I think.
    xx

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    1. It's odd that I can't remember much about netball at school maybe we didn't do it often

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  4. I was useless at all sports but this did not please me. I think the teacher realised this and cleverly gave me the role of reporter, I can't remember where my report was available to be seen (this was at junior school).

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    1. I hope someone somewhere saw your sports reports!

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  5. What lovely news . Congratulations to you all.
    Hugs-x-

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  6. Such wonderful news on another grandchild....congratulations....

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  7. Congratulations on grandchild number four! I have one grandson and three granddaughters. Lots of fun and cuddles.

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    1. Might be one grandson and 3 granddaughters or two of each - I don't mind

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  8. Congratulations to you, your son and daughter-in-law on the wonderful news. Will this be your first winter baby?

    We played netball at school and much later, when we were in our twenties/thirties, played it at night-school with my closest friend, Lesley. It was good fun.

    I hope the St Swithin's Day myth does centre around rain as it was roasting here yesterday and I, for one, don't want continuous hot weather for forty days and forty nights. Saying that, it's another hot day again and I'm going to my grand-daughter's sports day today and I know I'm going to wilt. The things we do for love, eh?

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  9. Congratulations, another Grandchild to cherish.

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  10. Congratulations on the news of a new Grandchild coming very soon.

    Trying to figure out what netball is as I have never heard that term before. I need to do some research.

    God bless.

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    1. Hope you googled and found it's a sort of basket ball but different!

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  11. Congratulations on becoming a Grandma ... yet again. Gosh four under 4 will make for lively but fun family gatherings 😃

    You couldn't eat the food, health and safety ... haha did you get the feeling then that she was just preparing her and her husband's meals for the next day 😄😄

    If the St Swithin's thing works this year then we're in for a lovely few weeks here. It's been glorious sunshine for well over a week now, thank goodness my garden is so tiny and I'm not metered, there's been a lot of watering going on.

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    1. There have been more days here with cloud than usual - I'd prefer sun

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  12. There is a St Swithin's church in Lincoln - that's the only one I know.
    Congrats all round on the new grandchild due.

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    1. I looked on line and didn't find many St Swithins mentioned

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  13. Congratulations on the new grandchild! How exciting! Your family is growing and get togethers will be such fun. I am happy for you all!

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  14. *C*O*N*G*R*A*T*U*L*A*T*I*O*N*S*!* on the new grandchild! I have 4, and 2 step-grands.
    ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  15. Congratulations ! My seventh grandchild is due in October.

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  16. Many congratulations, Sue! 4 all under 4years old, family get together are going to be hectic! Hope your daughter in law is keeping well.
    I think I just played netball in the winter at high school, along with hockey and in the summer we played tennis, rounders and athletics. I think basketball was in the winter terms too, I was hopeless at that, being a bit of a shortie!

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