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Mar. 1st, 2008 10:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
essayelHappy St David's Day, everyone. Am extremely touched to see a discreet little leek on the google heading. The daffodil is a 20th century invention of course because a 'lady' told Lloyd George that leeks were such smelly things she didn't want to wear one in her corsage. Lloyd George had quite a lot of interest in ladies so suggested the wild daffodil as a suitable, non-smelly, alternative. I prefer the leek because of the story.
At the battle of Crecy [26th August 1346 if you're the sort who NEEDS to know that kind of thing] a group of Welsh archers were cut off from their fellows and went to ground in someone's garden. They were discovered and attacked and things got so messy that the sides got confused as to who they should be clobbering so some bright spark sang out in Welsh that if you could understand him, and presumably weren't trying to gouge someone's lights out, you should pluck a leek and stick it in your bonnet as an identifier. This was a standard wheeze in Welsh folklore and crops up in tales of King Arthur as well. Later with the foe in flight and everyone congratulating themselves if they were still alive, the Black Prince came by and said, "Cool, grand idea lads. From now on you all have to wear leeks in your hats to show you're Welsh" and, because he was a Prince and a tough guy with a sword on a big horse, they had to pretend to be grateful. From then on a leek was worn on St David's Day with varying degrees of pride or hilarity, depending on the size of it, and at least you can use it to make soup, which is more than can be said for shamrocks, thistles or roses.
On this day we will NOT dye any rivers any colour at all, they are all the colours of the rainbow already from the oil floating on the surface. Nor will we dye beer. There will be no parades, no floats, no huge celebrations. However, there may be some private leek eating and the Welch Regiment's goat will get extra oats.
Edit: I saw a goshawk this morning. Only the second time ever. We thought it was a buzzard as it swooped across in front of the car, then it tilted and the sun shone white on it's belly. Last time I saw one it was tearing a pigeon apart a few yards from my kitchen window. They have beautiful mad bright yellow eyes.
At the battle of Crecy [26th August 1346 if you're the sort who NEEDS to know that kind of thing] a group of Welsh archers were cut off from their fellows and went to ground in someone's garden. They were discovered and attacked and things got so messy that the sides got confused as to who they should be clobbering so some bright spark sang out in Welsh that if you could understand him, and presumably weren't trying to gouge someone's lights out, you should pluck a leek and stick it in your bonnet as an identifier. This was a standard wheeze in Welsh folklore and crops up in tales of King Arthur as well. Later with the foe in flight and everyone congratulating themselves if they were still alive, the Black Prince came by and said, "Cool, grand idea lads. From now on you all have to wear leeks in your hats to show you're Welsh" and, because he was a Prince and a tough guy with a sword on a big horse, they had to pretend to be grateful. From then on a leek was worn on St David's Day with varying degrees of pride or hilarity, depending on the size of it, and at least you can use it to make soup, which is more than can be said for shamrocks, thistles or roses.
On this day we will NOT dye any rivers any colour at all, they are all the colours of the rainbow already from the oil floating on the surface. Nor will we dye beer. There will be no parades, no floats, no huge celebrations. However, there may be some private leek eating and the Welch Regiment's goat will get extra oats.
Edit: I saw a goshawk this morning. Only the second time ever. We thought it was a buzzard as it swooped across in front of the car, then it tilted and the sun shone white on it's belly. Last time I saw one it was tearing a pigeon apart a few yards from my kitchen window. They have beautiful mad bright yellow eyes.
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Date: 2008-03-01 06:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-01 09:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-01 10:10 pm (UTC)