Despite the recent rain gardeners and farmers tell me that we are still very short of rain; at the moment everything looks lovely and green, and the surrounding countryside looks wonderful.
The shortage of water though is never far from the headlines and like many people we have been trying to lessen our water consumption; I have been struck by how easy it is to make small changes such as turning the tap off while brushing my teeth, and keeping chilled water in the fridge rather than running the tap till the water goes cold.
Even so, these are tiny adjustments and I’m sure there is a lot more that we could do. I think I am right in saying that water is our fastest declining natural resource, and so we need to try and preserve water not only in a drought, but as standard practice. I was reminded the other day of the legend of St Swithun and as his feast falls on the 15th July I thought I would share some of his story.
Perhaps we should all pray for rain on the 15th July because St Swithun is apparently the saint to blame for rainy summers. It is said that if it rains on his special day, 15 July, it will then rain for forty days after that.
It all began when he was made Bishop of Winchester in 852 by King Ethelwulf of Wessex. It was an important posting: Winchester was the capital of Wessex, and during the 10 years Swithun was there, Wessex became the most important kingdom of England.
During his life, instead of washing out people's summer holidays, and damping down their spirits, Swithun seems to have done a lot of good. He was famous for his charitable gifts and for his energy in getting churches built. When he was dying in 862, he asked that he be buried in the cemetery of the Old Minster, just outside the west door.
If he has been left there in peace, who knows how many rainy summers the English may have been spared over the last 1000 years. But, no, it was decided to move Swithun. By now, the 960s, Winchester had become the first monastic cathedral chapter in England, and the newly installed monks wanted Swithun in the cathedral with them. So finally, on 15 July 971, his bones were dug up and Swithun was translated into the cathedral.
That same day many people claimed to have had miraculous cures. Certainly everyone got wet, for the heavens opened. The unusually heavy rain that day, and on the days following, was attributed to the power of St Swithun.
I hope that we do get a reasonable amount of rain this summer, and that it is not necessary to have more stringent water restrictions. I also hope that if you are planning to go away the weather is kind to you.
With best wishes, Caroline
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