For the past few weeks, as their buds swelled, it looked as if it was going to be a dead heat between the ash and the oak as to which would burst into leaf first, but, in a photo finish, the oak emerged victorious (‘oak before ash, we’re in for a splash; ash before oak, we’re in for a soak’).
As a result, hopefully, like last year when the oak won rather more convincingly, we will be in for another glorious dry summer.
Now is the time to drink in the countryside’s chlorophyll—the green of May is one of Britain’s wonders and it’s no wonder that the Green Man played such a part in our folklore to represent the rebirth of Nature. This pagan deity is found on huge numbers of both secular and ecclesiastical buildings as well as pub signs.
Above all, May is the time of England’s green and pleasant land. Those words made famous by Blake’s poem set to music by Sir Hubert Parry and known to all of us as Jerusalem was first performed on March 28, 1916, during the First World War at a patriotic ‘Fight for Right’ concert. Today, the song still resonates, as does our nation’s natural beauty.
Spectator: Big ideas for small farmers
Lucy Baring clues up on big farming ideas for small farmers.
Town mouse visits the Falmouth Bay Seafood Café
Town mouse enjoys a fish dinner.
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Graham Norton's elegant East London home hits the market, and it's just as wonderful as you would expectThe four-bedroom home in Wapping should be studied for how well it uses two separate spaces to create a home of immense character and utility.
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Sign of the times: In the age of the selfie, what’s happening to the humble autograph?When Ringo Starr announced that he was no longer going to sign anything, he kickstarted a celebrity movement that coincided with the advent of the camera phone and selfie. Rob Crossan asks whether, in today’s world, the selfie holds more clout than an autograph?
