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Category: Brixham
What happens during the winter solstice? First day of winter and the shortest day is December 21
And breatheSit a while
If you were thinking that the days have been exceptionally short recently, don’t be alarmed as the Winter Solstice has arrived. (Hooray – I hear you say).
The days have been getting shorter and shorter and the nights longer for the past six months, that is about to reverse.
This year, the solstice will happen (today) Thursday 21 December when we will experience a measly seven hours and 49 minutes of daylight, with the Sun due to rise at 8.30am and set at 3.53pm.
When is the shortest day of the year in the UK?
The shortest day of the year in the UK is on December 21 this year. Some years this shifts to December 22, as it did in 2019.
IT is quintessentially English – and yet the scone is something the country as a whole simply can’t agree about.
So, is it Scone (sc-own) for you, or Scon? I know that it’s always been a Scone for me and my family.
Living in Devon, as I do, it’s always clotted cream on first, followed by a huge dollop of strawberry jam. And that is how it is. Unless, of course, you live or come from Cornwall. Then, it’s jam on first, followed by cream.
Is it that important?
Yes!
It’s not just the argument about whether to spread the cream or jam first. Now, there’s an even more contentious question – how to pronounce the word scone.
If one isn’t from a posh background, it seems to be scone (sc-own)! If one is posh, it’s definitely scon; as in gone! Where a person is from, or their social standing, also determines how we pronounce our English scone. So, which is it for you?
Caz x
Thank you for dropping by today. Before you go off for a Cream Tea, buy my books! Amazon Author page
Put kettle on, Polly! (Note the importance of the English comma).
Just my cuppa tea!
Put kettle on, Polly! Pull up your chair, I have bought myself a little piece of ‘ancient china’ ~ cast iron kettle and a delightful teapot. Both can be used as a kettle, or a teapot. How-very-clever.
History
Cast iron teapots were originally created in ancient china. They were then adopted and developed by the Japanese in the 17th century into practical, as well as decorative handicraft items sold under the name of “Tetsubin”. The cast iron teapots and kettles symbolise the everlasting strength and unity of the world, and the more intricate pots are often given as gifts and kept as status symbols.
Kettles:
Traditional handmade Japanese cast iron kettles are normally bigger than the teapots, and are not enamelled on the inside. These units are made based on the old tradition of boiling water separately in a Tetsubin and pouring the water onto tea leaves in a separate teapot. These units are therefore made from cast iron and do NOT come with a strainer, as this is a later adaptation to western customs.
Teapots:
Through special treatments, impurities are removed from the cast iron during the production process. A coating of misty black enamel is then applied to help prevent the formation of rust. Due to their strength of construction these teapots may be used as kettles (to boil water) or as tea pots (to brew tea). Most sizes come with a stainless steel mesh infuser (to brew loose tea). If using the pot to boil water this infuser should be removed before doing so.
Wow. I’ve learnt something new today. Hope you have, too?
I’m a collector of teapots. Mostly bone-china. However, I’m thrilled with my recent cast iron purchases: a little extra knowledge goes a long way.
Tea time. Kettle’s boiling… atop my cast log burner. Life is cosy in my slice of paradise in Brixham Bay.
Enjoy the day, folks. Stay safe.
Caz x
My kindle books, set in picturesque Brixham Bay – can be downloaded here
If You Liked what You Saw Today ~ Please share to family and friends! Thank you.
Besides writing books, I’m a total camera-snapper. Beware, you may well find yourself on my Brixham blog one day!
A few photos of my garden just before it poured with rain. I especially like how the English bluebells have spread.
Plenty of colour Pretty leaves, will produce yellow flowersRed Robin A mix Nicknamed SpikeMaid Marion overseeing the goings-on… was once in my dad’s lovely garden until his passingStunning show – clematis English bluebells, Susan (Magnolia) pretty in pinkRosemaryOllie Owl & Tree Wizard on guardDo you like my lamppost ? Obviously I doSmoke Tree behind Bluebells Pansies return every yearSpuds growing in with pansiesThanks for dropping by todayGet the kids a new book! E-reader #Amazon http://Author.to/CazGreenhamThank you
You might consider yourself a very rational person, but then something as simple as a calendar date or a number makes you feel differently about things. You might think twice about boarding a plane on Friday 13th or taking a flight number 13. I once worked with a fella who was so superstitious he stayed in bed all day…apart from a quick dash to the loo for a pee. Every Friday 13th, I think of Roger; wondering if (a) he’s still alive and (b) if he is (alive) would he be in his pj’s snugly tucked up under the duvet covers. Probably!
I avoid walking beneath ladders whatever the date. Simply because I would feel stupid if a pot of paint fell on my head. Or worse, if heavy scaffolding knocked me out cold on the pavement. Otherwise, no I’m not at all superstitious.
Some people, like my work colleague of yonks ago, Roger, are really scared of the date. He booked every Friday 13th off as holiday in the Office Diary. We were all – well some of us more than others – (well, yes moi especially) made many attempts to book the 13th off before Roger could get his hands on the new diary. You guessed it, it was never going to happen! We (I) tried ringing him on his house phone in an attempt to get him out of bed to answer it. No chance of that either. He confessed once that he always pulled the phone cord from its socket just to make certain it didn’t ring downstairs in his hallway. Had it all covered, did our Roger. A pinned notice on his front door ensured parcels were redelivered the next day.
Such fear has a rather long name: ‘Paraskavedekatriaphobia’ now try and pronounce that after a couple of G & T’s.
Why are we so scared of it?
‘Tis said that the fear is likely rooted to Christianity. Jesus was crucified on the cross on a Friday 13th and ever since, the day has been associated with ‘general ill omen,’ according to Michael Bailey, a history professor at Iowa State University who specialises in the origins of superstitions.
Weddings in the Middle Ages, for instance, were not held on Fridays and it was not a day someone would start a journey. Thinking about that for a moment, I always liked to travel midweek on a Wednesday. Maybe I have hidden superstitions, after all.
Thirteen guests are believed to have attended the Last Supper, the night before Jesus was killed. And, Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is considered to have been the 13th guest.
A reflection on our daily living during COVD19 Pandemic 2020.
And people stayed at home And read books And listened And they rested And did exercises And made art and played And learned new ways of being And stopped and listened More deeply Someone meditated, someone prayed Someone met their shadow And people began to think differently And people healed. And in the absence of people who Lived in ignorant ways Dangerous, meaningless and heartless, The earth also began to heal And when the danger ended and People found themselves They grieved for the dead And made new choices And dreamed of new visions And created new ways of living And completely healed the earth Just as they were healed.
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