Seeker

It is raining. It is 15th July. It is St Swithun's Day.  Need I say more?  Probably yes if you have no idea who St Swithun was or why today's weather is significant for UK residents. Yes some of us do tend to be a little obsessed with weather forecasts. Rain today and 40 days of rain to follow may be expected, if you believe the old St Swithun's Day tradition.  If today were fine then 40 dry days might be expected to follow. "St Swithun's Day, if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain. St Swithun's Day, if thou be fair, for forty days, 'twill rain na mair." I don't think we can blame St Swithun for whatever the weather does in the next 40 days. If it actually rains in the UK every day for the next 40 days that would be a new record, as would a 40 day drought starting today. The old saying that dates back to the 14th century is not really accurate as a weather prediction, although it may have a grain of truth. According to T...

Superstition or the wisdom of experience? There's a saying in the UK that if it rains on St Swithun's Day (15 July) then 40 days rain will follow. If the sun shines it will continue dry for 40 days. In one version it goes like this: St Swithun's Day, if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain' St Swithun's Day, if thou be fair, For forty days, 'twill rain na mair. It's sunny here now, but rain is forecast - much needed for the dry gardens and fields. So what weather will we have for the next weeks? And what has that got to do with St Swithun, whose day is today? And who was he anyway?  In the UK, in 7-8 out of 10 years the weather pattern prevailing around the first half of July tends to persist for the following few weeks. This has to do with the way our weather is controlled by the jet stream and doesn't have much to do with Swithun, Bishop of Winchester, although he had wanted to be buried where rainwater from the Minster eaves would...

My husband thinks I'm obsessed by the weather forecast. This is not true. I simply like to make sure I'm suitably dressed for the weather, which in the UK is normally changeable. All the same, I do like this vintage weather forecast (1966) sung by the Master Singers, in the style of a traditional Anglican chant.