St Swithin's Day

St Swithin's day, gif ye do rain, for forty days it will remain;
St Swithin's day an ye be fair, for forty days 'twill rain nae mair.

quoted from Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

...This belief is first recorded in a manuscript of the early fourteenth century (Emmanuel College, MS 27, f. 163): 'In the daye of Seynte Svithone ginneth rinigge forti dawes mid ywone' ('on St swithin's Day it begins to raining, usually for forty days together').

from 'The Lore of the Land' (Westwood and Simpson)




Thinking back now,
I suppose you were just stating your views
What was it all for
For the weather or the Battle of Agincourt
And the times that we all hoped would last
Like a train they have gone by so fast
And though we stood together
At the edge of the platform
We were not moved by them

With my own hands
When I make love to your memory
It's not the same
I miss the thunder
I miss the rain
And the fact that you don't understand
Casts a shadow over this land
But the sun still shines from behind it.

Thanks all the same
But I just can't bring myself to answer your letters
It's not your fault
But your honesty touches me like a fire
The Polaroids that hold us together
Will surely fade away
Like the love that we spoke of forever
On St Swithin's Day


Billy Bragg



More than once I've been called a romantic and I suppose that's true, albeit one without a cause. Not your hearts and flowers kind for sure, and not someone who will go off in search of 'romance' in the clubs of a Saturday night. It's more a state of mind with me. I heard someone describe themselves recently as a 'something of a loner: a romantic fatalist' and I think, perhaps that's what I am. I hold on to a sense that something will happen if and when it's meant to. And it won't happen in a flash either - more likely it will emerge over a period of time. At the moment, I'm perfectly content with that philosophy.