EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL
'April 1st. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty four”
Mark Twain
The cover of this month’s Chimes is a photograph of The Astronomical Clock of Prague. It is six hundred years old and not only tells the time but shows the position of the sun and moon in the sky; on the hour chime the twelve apostles move in procession and, if this wasn’t enough, it shows the twelve months of the year in medallion form.
In this present time of uncertainty, with doom and gloom being the major part of our media diet it’s important that we have time to laugh with others and, at ourselves to provide some kind of balance to our lives. It is with this in mind that the centre pages of this magazine are dedicated to providing a little information on the origins of April Fools Day and some of the ways different countries celebrate this date.
Consequently, I hope that this might provide a stimulus for you to look further into this tradition to give some light relief from some of the never ending gloom that surrounds us at this present time.
Finally to quote Joe Marler on this year’s Red Nose Day celebrations -
“If we can’t have a chuckle at ourselves, what have we got left ?”
Steve Tommey
A VIEW FROM THE HILL
Grass
Have you noticed how green the countryside looks at this time, late February? The fields are full of green grass or growing cereals. Think back six months or so, when the fields were brown with shrivelled grass and cereal crops, and our lawns looked ruined, what a transformation nature has made. The grass meadows are not a sea of mud as most stock is now overwintered under cover. Winter grown grass is of low food value to sheep and cattle. Also, the fields are cleansed by not having stock on them and I am sure the animals prefer to have a roof over their heads; if they are outside in foul weather they always look for somewhere where there is a bit of shelter. Most lambing is done undercover these days; I can remember as a boy having to put ewe and lambs under cover during wet and cold weather, and of course most ewes would lamb during such weather. Soon the fields will have thankful sheep, lambs and cattle in them and the sun will shine!
Peter Lockwood
