Story from Janis entitled
"WHIT MONDAY"
Now SPRING BANK HOLIDAY
31st MAY
Whit Monday Spring Bank Holiday is the last Monday in May
Spending last Whitson Bank Holiday in Somerset with my
daughter Shella and her family it was so nice to take the doggies for their walks in the countryside with my grandchildren. I was thinking as we walked along that we live in a world of rapid change, it's true, and yet it's amazing how many things of beauty which inspired the great poets of yesterday can still be enjoyed today. When Shelly wrote: "Hail to thee, blithe spirit! Bird thou never wert", he was listening to the same song of the skylark as we can hear in the countryside now. I even heard the calls of a cuckoo again and again in the distance as he did when Wordsworth wrote: O blithe newcomer! I have heard, I hear thee and rejoice.
Walking through the lovely park full of trees I see the green grass with daisies growing in the grass and remembered Robert Burns "Wee modest crimson-tipped flow'r", the humble daisy, brightens many a lawn (whether it's wanted or not!), brightens many a lawn. As long as all these things are still with us. I don't think the world is a bad place, do you? Walking further along I then came across a couple of house martins building their nests under the eaves of an old building that was once used for pottery. I was so fascinated that I sat down on the park seat and watched them. These small summer visitors arrive in May and are easy to distinguish as they fly backwards and forwards, busy making nests. They often return to places where they have nested in previous years, creating large colonies.
The first stage is laying a foundation of mud against the wall and when this is secure the nest is built on to it, patiently and gradually with beakfuls of mud and grass. Finally it gets a thick layer of feathers to make a comfortable home for the chicks. Should the most become dislodged, the process starts all over again.
As far as good foundations, industry and patience are concerned; I think these birds have quite a lot to teach us.
Pentecost or Whitsun is observed on the seventh Sunday after Easter, The word Pentecost has its roots in the Greek "Pentekosle" meaning the fiftieth day after Easter, Whit Sunday commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit in the form of flames to the Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament.
Whit Walks
All the family would undertake these walks. Usually this was a time to wear your new clothes, which would have been brought for occasion. Whitson Ales are country fairs where Morris dancing display music and of course socialising eating and drinking would have been under taken. This would have been a major event on the social calendar.
I hope you enjoy the rest
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