Summer Fun

So, here we are, heading into the grand old English summer. Just been made redundant...for the umpteenth time...so who gives a shit? I shall get another job, and maybe get made redundant again! Isn't life wonderfully cyclical?

I've ben talking a lot to a wonderful friend in Riyadh for a while now, and we got talking about religion again tonight (she's Islamic, I'm an atheist) and we talked a bit about comparative theology, I said that much of my belief stemmed from where I live....the heart of Wiltshire....with Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Avebury and iron age cairns dotted around, it's very difficult (when you know how and why many Christian celebrations began their days) not to be a Pagan or a Druid. But the subject got me on to the many other histories and customs of my little world.

This Saturday sees the celebration of Oak Apple,

Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day was a holiday celebrated in England on 29 May to commemorate the restoration of the English Monarchy, in May 1660. In some parts of the country, the day was also known as Shick-Shack Day or Arbour Day.

In 1660, Parliament declared 29 May a public holiday:

"Parliament had ordered the 29 of May, the King's birthday, to be for ever kept as a day of thanksgiving for our redemption from tyranny and the King's return to his Government, he entering London that day."

The tradition and celebration has died out now as a national event. However, the village of Great Wishford, in the Wylye Valley north of Salisbury, still celebrates Oak Apple. Wikipedia has this to say...

It is one of the few villages that still celebrates Oak Apple Day on 29 May each year. On this day, Great Wishford villagers claim their ancient rights to collect wood from Grovely Wood. This tradition is said to date back to 1603, when the charter of rights to collect wood in the Royal Forest of Groveley was confirmed by the Forest Court. The rights themselves date back several centuries before 1603. It is a matter of debate whether this tradition has been kept up continuously since the 17th century, or whether it was revived / re-invented in the late 19th century.

The events of a modern oak apple day include a "band" waking the villagers in the early hours of the morning, gathering oak branches from the woods at dawn, a village breakfast in the local pub (Royal Oak), then onto Salisbury, where there is dancing outside the Cathedral followed by claiming rights inside the cathedral by shouting "Grovely, Grovely, and all Grovely". In the afternoon there is a formal meal, and other events for villagers in Oak Apple Field.

These days, most villagers put more effort into claiming their rights than in exercising them: the handcarts used to transport wood from Grovely seem to have entirely disappeared.

And this is another example of looking back while living, a wonderful keeping of past traditions, which the villagers look forward to. I hope this Oak Apple Day is a great event and they all enjoy it, and best wishes with this wonderfully unpreictable weather too.

And I can assure you from experience, the walks through Grovely Woods are fantastic, every season brings it's own delights for visual splendour, and the Royal Oak is about the finest place to go for a lunch afterwards, the village of Great Wishford is so beautiful it's well worth a visit, if for no other reason than to enjoy the sight of St. Giles Church, with it's back-drop of Grovely from one side, or Salisbury Plain from the other.

Rainy Days and Sundays

Wonderful, bank holiday weekend, and all it want's to do is piss down....well, go ahead - I'm up to date with laundry, the grass isn't too long, and I did't plan a camping trip...go ahead weather, knock yourself out...save me the problem of a hosepipe ban two months away.

Went out to get a new computer desk for my son Sam today, not a hope! Focus had a nice one, so grabbed a box with him (heavy box I might add) and went to the check out...."sorry sir, can't sell you this, there should be two boxes with this one" - well, where's the other box kept? - "Oh, we don't have any of the other part, we have two of the one half, none of the other" - I see, well thanks anyway! - "Sorry...oh, just leave that heavy box there, I'll get one of the lads to put it back" - Gosh...thanks! (did she REALLY think I was going to heave the bloody thing all the way back to the shelf when they were too idle or stupid to at least put a note up saying they were incomplete, or better still...take them off the shelf!?) The bigger stores become, the smaller the intelect of the people who work in them it seems, which is probably unfair, and an unjust critcism of people who may just be suffering from lack of cerebal stimulation in their working enviroment. Anyway, tried B&Q next, nope! nowhere else left to look here on a Sunday, so came back home, sat down and ordered it on-line, being delivered Tuesday, now I could have done that in the first place, saved some diesel, and done some housework.

I was trying to remember where I would have gone for things back when I first married in 1975, I know there was a shop in Salisbury that did decorating stuff, paint, wallpaper and that sort of thing, but as far as I can recall, everything else you had to go to different places, Hardware shops, furniture shops etc, now it's all bubble packs and everything under one roof (if we have it in stock, sir....though you can always order it on-line)

But the one thing that is going to stick out as a part of this weekend is my next door neighbour....let's call him...oh I don't know...say...."DIY Dan"...that's appropiate...every bloody weekend saw, saw...hammer, hammer....drill, drill - now the problem is, he thinks that eight thirty is a reasonable time to kick off with it, but this guy likes to be awake early when he's going to be busy, so he sets his alarm for about 5.30am, his alarm sounds like mine, and with our window open, and his, the sound is enough to wake me up...and once I'm awake I can't get back to sleep....got a DAMN good mind to go round and pinch all his chicken's free range eggs and have 'em for breakfast!! (actually, I just like free range eggs, so it might be I'm just looking for excuses) and he's quite a nice chap anyway (just somebody please take his toys away!)

Having a nice time here, wee small hours, listening to oldies on youtube and supping tea, looking at old photos, they bring back memories of days gone by, and remind me that one day THIS will be the past too.