As I set out on my run this morning our next door neighbour commented, “Its cooler for you today!” Actually it’s not yet a great deal cooler but rather less sunny. In fact it’s quite muggy - but then, storms are forecast for later today.
Here’s a reminder of what it’s all about:
“Well dressing, also known as well flowering, is a tradition practised in some parts of rural England in which wells, springs and other water sources are decorated with designs created from flower petals.[1] The custom is most closely associated with the Peak District of Derbyshire and Staffordshire. James Murray Mackinlay, writing in 1893, noted that the tradition was not observed in Scotland; W. S. Cordner, in 1946, similarly noted its absence in Ireland. Both Scotland and Ireland do have a long history of the veneration of wells, however, dating from at least the 6th century.”
I think that well dressing was resurrected in our village in the post-lockdown time, part of the community activity that being locked away generated. I certainly don’t remember ever seeing it before. However we are right on the edge of the Peak district so I suppose it’s not surprising that it should be seen here.
Actually, I may be wrong about the habit being pandemic-generated. I have a distinct memory of visiting my son and family before Covid separated us all. His little daughter, probably only 3 or 4 years old asking me (or telling me!) to look out for “fairy stones” as we walked around the park. But they did come into their own during the time when people were often taking solitary walks.
In the film Once Upon a Time in America there is a scene where the group of friends take their revenge on the bullying policeman by going into the maternity hospital where his wife has just given birth to a longed-for son and switching all the babies around in their cribs in the nursery. Whether they really ever planned to keep track of the labels on the cribs and babies with a view to restoring order remains unclear.
This was long before DNA testing but here is a story of how DNA testing led one family in the USA to discover that the father of their son, conceived in-vitro, was in fact a complete stranger. There had been a mix-up at hte fertility clinic.fortunatelt the story had a happy ending. The child in question declared the father he had always known was still his father but was happy to discover and meet some new siblings. And the two families, against all odds, became friends.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment