Thanks Dave, good word (phenology) and we can definitely work together, I am doing a pilot for the One Show. Georgina Burnett, BBC Freelance - 22/7/2013 Holy Days: such as Easter, Corpus Christi, Good Friday (which is also a day of prediction), Pentecost, Pastor Sunday, Low Sunday and others all have some weather information pertinent to my methodology. If the cattle are all clustered together, a storm is brewing. The tighter the cluster the worse the weather will be.

Rain on Good Friday and Easter day, A good year for grass and a bad year for hay." - In other words, a wet year. Amazing fascinating and interesting evening, now THAT was an awesome talk, delivered with great humour and wit, a brilliant talk that made us all think Sod John Kettley....... Dave King is my weather man!! Absolutely fascinating evening." Lauren Bleach - Lowestoft Moot - 18/5/2017 Lunar or solar events: this column gives dates and times and the particular lunar or solar event on that date, be it an eclipse of the sun or a partial eclipse of the moon etc. If sun be bright on Candlemass Day there will be more frost after the feast than before." From Nottinghamshire. If March come in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb". March is such an unpredictable month for weather. We can only hope that if it is cold and snowy the beginning of March, it will be springlike and warm at the end of March.If however St Swithin is dry, "If Bartholomew's be fine and clear, then hope for a prosperous Autumn that year." Many of us have lost touch with the outdoors and our environment, at least the kind of connection that we would have had pre the industrial revolution. Since then our workstyles and lifestyles have brought us indoors and what David has reminded me of in this book, is that to all intents and purposes I walk around with my eyes closed. David also hints that we have lost touch with the traditions that go with that lifestyle, traditions that have been passed down through generations and passed on from years of experience. It does however occur around the period of the Equinoxal gales which may give a false reading locally. If gales coincide with this day, then wait a couple of days for a truer reading and forecast. As a general rule the wind direction on 21st March will be easterly giving cold easterly winds up to at least 25th May (St Urban) and more likely (as in 2012 and 2013) well into the second week of June, when the direction changes to the south west bringing the warmer summer weather. I am not a trained scientist, nor am I academically qualified, I am an Associate Fellow of the RmetS and also a member of the Climatologists Observers league (COL), the foremost amateur climatologist organisation in the UK, and am an active member of both organisations and have been for several years. A keen amateur is a good description.

Spiders make their webs stronger when a storm is expected, and rain is predicted. The webs usually have more cross sections that reinforce the web. The challenge is to produce an advance predictive weather indicator of what the weather is likely to be some 6 months ahead, or in country parlance, two seasons at 90% accuracy. The leaves on trees will curl when the humidity changes. Imagine observing tree leaves for humidity rather than measuring it with a psychrometer. St Swithin's Day is usually 'a bit of both,' day, half wet and half sunny. i.e. Sunny intervals and showers.However this wind day is not a true 90 day period (see Quarter Days), being out of sequence it is therefore to be treated with some caution. Our forefathers had no technology and they managed to survive, so why cannot I try to achieve what they achieved?

If on Palm Sunday there be rain, that betokened to goodness. If thunder that day, then it signifieth a merrie year." It is certain that this day will give at least a fair indication of what the weather will be like, but with the warning that the signs can be ambiguous or a little optimistic. In the mid 1800’s here was a Scottish meteorologist named Alexander Buchan, who using Edinburgh as his base, concluded that over the year there were certain periods that were colder or warmer than the norm for that time of the year. These he called Buchan warm and cool periods, and whilst based on Edinburgh, I find them applicable to here in the SE and quite accurate. An example is that 29th June to 4th July is a Buchan cold period, which is why it invariably rains at Wimbledon during the tennis.

Elementary Meteorology

The Druidical religion and in Witchery (Witchcraft) the most important ceremonies of the year are held, eg Stonehenge. Therefore St Swithin's Day is far from straightforward and it is better to be prudent and hedge your bets accordingly, and keep your reputation. I then found the most illuminating books by Barry & Perry, Chandler & Gregory and HH Lamb - all of which produce near identical results as I, concerning the important weather patterns in the year, which tends to corroborate my methodology (See Literature List). Note also that the saw speaks of fine weather and says nothing about rain. After this day you should expect dull or fine weather, but not, as a general rule, much rain. Uncle Offa is of the opinion that this should be 30 days only, covering the period between the two dates. If accepted then the 30 days is found to be more reliable. [agreed by author]