Saint Swithin's Day

Saint Swithin's Day, if thou shalt rain
For forty days it shall remain

It's Saint Swithin's day today. He was the Bishop of Winchester (Haha! I bet you didn't know that. I bet hardly anybody does) and he died on July 15, 862. On his deathbed, he asked to be buried in a humble grave outside the north wall of his cathedral so that the "sweet rain from heaven" could fall on his grave. Nine years later on the same date the monks decided to move him indoors to a posh shrine inside the cathedral. The Bishop, up in Heaven, wasn't pleased: it started to tip it down and continued to do so for forty days, hence the legend.

Of course, I know more than most about Saint Swithin's day because it seems to happen every year, coincidentally, on my birthday. My birthday this year is one of those nasty ones with a 0 on the end, the kind that reminds you that not only have you not managed to save the world - always a disappointment - but that you're going to DIE, leaving the world unsaved, apart from - in my case - quite a few frogs. And a fair number of well-fed birds, too, I think.

But my friends decided to distract me from all this last night by taking me out to an excellent Thai restaurant, complete with cute cake:

Ooh look! a football candle! Like every other restaurant they clearly have about a squillion World Cup souvenirs which they are going to try their damndest to use up during the next four years until it all starts again. Excellent cake, too. The tablecloth was covered in little sparkly things that said Happy Birthday.

The meal was lovely, and so were my friends.

And this morning, my husband Stephen gave me these:

Kenneth Williams' diaries, which I've wanted to read for a while - and a sparrow box. A little row of three terraced nesting boxes, which is how sparrows like to nest. For Stephen knows that, given the choice between a diamond necklace or a good book AND a sparrow box - well, they can stuff the diamonds back in the ground for all I care. Thanks too to the rest of my family, who also gave me great presents.

And then, most mysteriously, there was this:

Inside the box was an invitation: my friends have hired a narrowboat for us all for the day in early August, setting off from Apsley Basin in Huddersfield. I love narrowboats and canals. My friends are The Best.

The sun is shining today, and will shine for the rest of the summer, for here is the weather forecast:

Saint Swithin's Day, if thou be fair
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.