The Day That Didn't Exist

Imagine waking up on the morning of 5 October 1582, putting the kettle on, and discovering that the day had been cancelled. Not postponed or moved.  Cancelled.  Because in parts of Europe, 5 October 1582 simply didn't exist.

By the sixteenth century, the old Julian calendar had drifted out of step with the seasons. It was only a tiny error each year, but after 1,500 years, tiny errors become rather less tiny.  So Pope Gregory XIII introduced a new calendar.  He simply removed ten days.  In countries adopting the change, Thursday 4 October was followed immediately by Friday 15 October.

Gone were the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th.  Ten days had vanished from the calendar.

But not here in Britain.  We Brits didn’t accept the Pope’s authority to cancel ten days.  In 1582 it was just Spain, Portugal and parts of Italy.   When Britain finally changed by Act of Parliament  in 1752, we had fallen even further behind. Eleven days had to be removed, so Wednesday 2 September was followed by Thursday 14 September.

But back to 1582.  The people affected hadn't actually lost ten days of their lives. Time carried on perfectly normally. It was the number printed on the calendar that changed.  (Now I’ve written that I’m thinking they probably didn’t have printed calendars.)

So spare a thought for 5 October.  A perfectly respectable date.  And yet, in some countries, it never got its turn.

 

April

 Sue from Suffolk mentioned a poem about April in her post today and it sparked the memory of a poem I learnt when I was at school.   Enjoy!

Home-Thoughts, from Abroad

Oh, to be in England

Now that April's there,

And whoever wakes in England

Sees, some morning, unaware,

That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf

Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,

While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough

In England—now!

 

And after April, when May follows,

And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!

Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge

Leans to the field and scatters on the clover

Blossoms and dewdrops—at the bent spray's edge—

That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,

Lest you should think he never could recapture

The first fine careless rapture!

And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,

All will be gay when noontide wakes anew

The buttercups, the little children's dower

—Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

Robert Browning

Mass Observation Day 2025

 

I really enjoyed the film "Housewife, 49" with Victoria Woods as Nella Last, an ordinary housewife living in Barrow in Furness.  She contributed a diary from 1939 to the mid sixties, detailing the events of her life and how she felt about things.

Earlier than that, on 12th May 1937, people were invited to record the events of that day.  Why that date?  It was the coronation of George VI.  

In August 1939 when war was already seeming inevitable, Mass-Observation invited members of the public to record and send them a day-to-day account of their lives in the form of a diary. No special instructions were given to these diarists but 480 people responded to this invitation and their diaries are now held in the organisation's archive.

The original project ended in the mid-sixties but was revived in 1981.  These days it is not day-to-day diaries which are requested but responses to specific topics.  The spring topics are post-pandemic reflections, VE Day and Good News.  I am an observer and am writing about all three.

But 12th May is very special each year.  Today is the day everyone is invited to record and reflect on the events of their day.  

And one of the events I shall record is that I posted an entry on my blog!

C is for Cranford

Anybody else love theTV adaptations of the classics?  I find that a good drama series really inspires me to read or, more likely, listen to, the original book.  

Over the years I've read The Forsyte Saga, Nicholas Nickleby, Vanity Fair and many, many more.  Until they are brought to life on the small screen so many classics look too boring to leap onto my reading list   

I loved the TV adaptation of Cranford and rewatched it recently.  With a cast including Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton and Julia MacKenzie, it was bound to be good!  I got an audiobook read by Prunella Scales and it is now my bedtime favourite.

But I can hardly believe how different the TV series and the book are.  The televised version is actually a conflation of three books: Cranford, My Lady Ludlow and Mr Harrison's Confessions.

Mrs Gaskell's "Cranford" has no real plot.  It was written as a series of short pieces about some spinsters and widows who work very hard to keep up an appearance of "gentility".  It's about a changing society and strong aversion to change.  Threats to the established order must be fiercely resisted - and they are!  The lack of a plot doesn't matter: what I enjoyed is the insights into mid-Victorian provincial life.

Have you been inspired by classical adaptations?

Liz Rules, OK

 Jubilee Day here in the UK when the nation celebrates the seventy years of Elizabeth II's reign.  The celebrations will last four days.  Today I watched Trooping the Colour for the Queen's (Official) Birthday.  She's had one hundred and sixty six birthdays!!

We went outside for our weekly neighbourhood nattering and sorted the details for a small street party on Sunday after Caistor's Picnic in the Park, part of The Big Jubilee Lunch.

This afternoon I went to our Market Square to hear The Jubilee Proclamation read by our Town Crier and his assistant.  He stood next to the pump installed in honour Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.  (Victoria reigned only sixty three years.) The Proclamation was met with a shout of "God Save The Queen" from the crowd.

Tonight beacons will be lit all across the country.   I'm not sure I can make it to Caistor's beacon but I have hung my own tribute on the garden fence.  

Thank you for all you have done for us, Ma'am

Birthdays

Our Bill

St George

Four hundred years of The Bard!  I wonder what Mary Arden thought she was unleashing on the world when she gave birth four hundred and fifty two years ago?  She could not have imagined how that mewling and puking scrap of humanity would make an impact on all the English speaking world once he had finished creeping unwillingly to school, come to man's estate and had made the world his stage.  Four hundred and fifty two years ago today (or thereabouts!) he was born, four hundred years ago today he died on England's national day, St George's Day.  So cry God for England, Willy and St George!

Elizabeth II - Bond Girl!

The big birthday this week though was a ninetieth, that of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Mountbatten-Windsor.  What an amazing woman!  Seeing photographs of her or television footage one would guess at someone in her sixties or at most, in her seventies.  I still smile when I think about the Olympic opening ceremony.  Her birthday celebrations will be going on for several months so I don't feel too bad at being slightly late in saying, Happy Birthday, Ma'am.

And in my own family we have been celebrating a special lady too.  Auntie Hettie was 91 this week.  For most people she isn't as important as either William S or Elizabeth R but for me she is one tremendous gal.  

No brainer!

Today's pleasure really took no thinking about - the pleasure of a fine day!  It feels as though it has been raining for ever but today I woke up to a dry day.

And so the trundle truck and I went to Brigg, a small market town not far from home which has the great joy of free parking!  It's a great place for me to go as the town centre is largely pedestrianised and trundle truck accessible.  It's got lovely small shops including butchers and bakers and some medium sized supermarkets.  I didn't need much but I did need cash and I wanted some wool to complete a project.  

And I could rejoice in a dry day.  So many in this country are really suffering because of the very wet winter we have had but here in Lincolnshire we've had it wet but only very localised (and predictable) flooding.  Today Brigg was quiet and I could go to my favourite wool shop and my favourite "bargain" shop.  I could enjoy the view of the river.

We Brits pride ourselves on being able to moan about the weather, no matter what it's like, but today I just enjoyed it.

Place names

On my recent holiday to Cornwall I was intrigued by some of the place names.  Not far from where I was staying there was the delightfully named Indian Queens.  The most likely reason for that place name was a pub of the same name but of course there are other stories with a bit more romance about them.

I passed by Playing Place.  Doesn't that sound a fun place to visit?  My imagination ran riot imagining endless hopscotch or merry-go-rounds!  It wasn't far from the King Harry Ferry.  I wonder if His Majesty was ever the ferryman

Who would have expected to find a Camel Trail in Cornwall but there it was!  It was originally the site of two railway lines but now it's a trail for walkers and cyclists to follow near to the River Camel.  It would be lovely to imagine it as a silk route, with ships of the desert carrying exotic wares deep in the Cornish countryside.

Don't for a moment think that Cornwall has the only odd place names though.  My last parish included the less-than-delightfully-named Spital in the Street.

And it wasn't far from New York!

Name that anniversary

It's been quite a year for centennials.

18th June  was the Octocentenary of the sealing of Magna Carta in 1215;

14th November will see the Tricentenary of the Battle of Preston when the Jacobite Rebellion under the Old Pretender was ended in 1715;

18th June was the Bicentenary of the final defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815 and thus the end of the Napoleonic Wars;

and 16th September was the Centenary of the first meeting of the Women's Institute in the UK at Llanfairpwllgwynyll. 

But today is the Sexcentenary of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. 

I wonder what 2015 will be remembered for?

Thank You, Ma'am.

I’m not going to press the publish button in this until after 5.30 pm because at that time Elizabeth 11 will become our longest reigning monarch.

Understandably she doesn’t want to celebrate – her long reign is partly down to the fact that her father died so young.  She would also effectively be celebrating the death of her great great grandmother, Queen Victoria.

But I think many of us want to say our own quiet "thank yous” to Her Majesty.  She’s been our oldest ever monarch for quite a while but to see her around you’d never guess it.  Her schedule isn’t as busy as it was but it’s still incredible for a lady of 89.  Today she’s out opening a new railway and doubtless receiving the cheers and thanks of many of her people.

I was born in her father’s reign but she became Queen when I was 15 weeks old.  She has been the stability of my country all my life.  On Sunday I shall use this prayer. 

Almighty God, who hast set our gracious sovereign Queen Elizabeth upon the throne of this realm and given her to surpass all others in the years of her reign: receive our heartfelt thanks for her service to her people, confirm and encourage her in the continuance of the same, and keep her in thy heavenly wisdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who took the form of a servant for our sake and reigneth now in glory with theee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.  Amen

15th June 2015

It might not look like a special date but for a Yellowbelly* with a sense of history it's a truly historic day.  Eight hundred years ago, on 15th June 1215 the barons of England forced King John to set his seal to the document we know as Magna Carta,  Copies of that Great Charter were sent to the cathedrals of the land and two of the extant originals are held by the cathedrals of Salisbury and Lincoln.

The processional King John

King John cut down to size and munching castle cake

So today the trundle truck and I went to Lincoln and saw not only Magna Carta but also the Charter of the Forest which was actually more important to the common people of England.  

King John's great seal

A modern Magna Carta

Lincoln Castle was in festive mood today.  King John had returned leading a procession.  Once at the castle he was rather cut down to size.  He was forced to set his great seal to the charter prepared not by barons but by local school children.  

And everybody enjoyed a very special cake which was free to all visitors to Lincoln Castle on this very special day.  

Castle Cake

*A Yellowbelly is someone born and bred in Lincolnshire.  I qualify!

I may be some time.

I do enjoy a good moan.  I wouldn’t even dignify my moans by calling them rants.  Sometimes they are just chunterings, by which I mean I am at home alone, and I utter harsh words about “them” whoever “they" are.  The right to moan/rant/chunter is highly valued here at Frugal Follies.

And today I need to go a mere half a mile on my trundle truck to maintain my (moral) right to moan.  For today is Election Day.

I have watched several of the election debates on the television and as I have watched I have moaned/ranted/chuntered at the TV set.  Although I have never been politically active myself I admire those who want to change things (or even those who campaign to keep some things the same).  The politicians at Westminster get paid, true, but the vast majority of those involved in the political process do so voluntarily.  They may want to change things so that they are better for themselves but at least they do more than moan/rant/chunter. 

Believe it or not I have SEVENTEEN votes today.  One for Parliament, two for the district council and fourteen for the town council.  I shall use them all.

I may be some time.

It might seem like a random list

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding

Test matches

Glorious gardens

Regional accents

Driving on the left

Queuing

Saying sorry when it’s not my fault

Fish and chips

The Weather

Stiff upper lip

The Queen

Last night of the proms

Donkeys at the seaside

Saying “How do you do?” and never answering the question

Marks and Spencer

Village churches

Allotments

It's St George's Day 

(and Shakespeare's birthday).

What else is "quintessentially English"?

Happy Birthday

I make no bones about it – I think Elizabeth R is one of the best things about The United Kingdom.   

I like seeing the lovely warmth of her smile.  Back in 2000 I nominated one of my parishioners to receive the Maundy Money from her at Lincoln cathedral and when I saw Her Majesty I couldn’t believe the radiance of a lady of 74 as she was then and as far as I can see she has lost little of that glow.

I am in awe of her stamina and energy.  True she no longer does quite as much but she still has an amazing workload.

I admire her devotion to duty.  Few Heads of State anywhere have been in office for over sixty three years as she has and yet she has said she will never abdicate, that her whole life will be devoted to our service.

And today she is 89 years old.  Non-Brits may not realise this but she has had 152 birthdays as she has an official birthday as well as the sort that the rest of us have!

When she was born she was not expected to become Queen but on 9^th September this year she will become our longest reigning monarch.  We have been fortunate indeed to have her.

Happy Birthday, Ma’am