Author: Kevin Flude

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May Day May 1st

May Day – Bringing the Maypole, Bedfordshire. Image from ‘Romantic Britain’

Maypoles were often stored during the year. A few days before May Day they were repainted, and bedecked with May Garlands – mostly made from Hawthorn. The Maypole used in London in 1660 was 134 feet high. Tall straight trees were used, sometimes of Larch, and they might be spliced together to get the requisite height. John Stow says that each parish in London had their own Maypole, or combined with a neighbouring Parish. The main Maypole was on the top of Cornhill, in Leadenhall Street. It was stored under the eves of St Andrew’s Church, which became known as St Andrew’s Undershaft as a result.

Padstow May Day Festival

Padstow holds, perhaps, the most famous May Day festival on May 1st. It feels feels very ‘pagan’ or do I mean it is fuelled by an enormous amount of drink?

Here is a video, watch until you see the ‘obby ‘orse and the teaser dancing.

Why May Eve?

The celebrations begin on May Eve because the Celtic calendar starts the day at Dusk. This seems strange to us who, perversely, ‘start’ our day at Midnight just after everyone has gone to bed! The other choice, and maybe the most logical is Dawn. But Dawn and Dusk are difficult to fix. Midnight was chosen by Julius Caesar when he created the Julian Calendar. Midnight has the virtue of being a fixed metric, being half way between Dawn and Dusk. From the Celtic point of view. The day ends when the Sun goes down over the western horizon. So the end of the old day, is the beginning of the new day. Makes sense?

For Walpurgis Nacht see my post on April 30th here: walpurgis-nacht-april-30th/

Beltane

Celebrations centred around the Bonfire. The day was sacred to the fire God Belenus (Gaulish: Belenos, Belinos, British Belinus, Bel, or Beli), and May Day was called Beltane. Bonfires continued to be a part of the celebration into the 16th Century, and in places until the 20th Century. According to folklore tradition, the bonfire should be made of nine types of wood. They must be collected by nine teams of married men (or first born men). They must not carry any metal with them. The fire has to be lit by rubbing oak sticks together or a wooden awl twisted in a wooden log.

Participants, have to run sunwise around the fire. Oatcakes are distributed, with one being marked with a black spot. The one who collects it has to jump through the fire three times. Bonfires would have been, by choice on the top of hills. But then they were also held in the streets in London.

May celebrations have a similarity to Halloween. This was also a fire festival and both are uncanny times when sprites and spirits abound. Hawthorn was a favoured wood not only because of its beautiful may flower. It was also said to be the wood the crown of thorns was made from. Hawthorn had the power of resisting supernatural forces. Therefore, it was used to protect doors, cribs, cow sheds and other places from witches. Witches, it was said, got their power to fly from potions made from chopped up infants. The best protection was Christening. The custom was that christening took place as early as possible and normally three days after birth. Shakespeare was baptised on 26th April 1564, so we celebrate his birthday on 23rd April. See my post for more on this subject.

Special May Babies

Cribs would be bedecked with Hawthorn and protection might be augmented by a bible, rowan, and garlic. Babies born between May 1 and 8 were thought to be special. They were destined to have power over man and beast. Weddings were frowned upon in Lent and in May, so April became a popular choice for marriage.

May Dew

After celebrations on May Eve (April 30th), women would go out in the woods to collect May, other flowering plants. They would wash their faces in May Dew preferable from the leaves of Hawthorn. If not from beneath an oak tree, or from a new-made grave. The dew was said to improve their complexion. It was also used for medical conditions such as gout and weak eyes. Thinking of one’s lover on May Day might bring marriage within the year.

May morning would commence with dancing around the Maypole, followed by feasting, and summer games. for more about Maypoles and May Day see my post may-2nd-this-stinking-idol-the-end-of-may-day/

Belenus is a Celtic God of whom very little is clear and unambiguous. He was linked in Gaul with Apollo. The name, some people think, comes from ‘Shining’ but others disagree and think it means ‘Master of Power.’ His association with Irish mythology and the festival of Beltane suggests he was a powerful god in Celtic Europe. Geoffrey of Monmouth has a King called Belinus, and spins a yarn about Belinus and Billingsgate. Linguists prefer the idea that Billingsgate is named after some unknown Saxon called Billings. This may be a little more likely but far less interesting.

See my post on Midsummer for more on Celtic Festivals.

On This Day

1707 The Union of Scotland and England Proclaimed

1945 German Fascist Goebbels kills himself and his entire family

Revised May 1st 2024 and 2025

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Walpurgis Nacht & St Erconwald’s Day April 30th

Walpurgis Nacht. Screen Shot of https://astromagicklounge.com/2021/04/30/celebrating-walpurgis-night-with-black-sabbath-aleister-crowley/

On April 30th, 870AD, St. Walpurga remains were ‘translated’ to Eichstätt. St Willibald had set up the town as the Diocesan centre of this part of Bavaria. So, in Germany today is known as Walpurgis Nacht. I wrote more on my page on St. Walpurga. Walpurga and her two brothers, Willibald and Winibald were Anglo-Saxon Saints who helped convert Germany to Christianity in the 8th Century.

The evening of April 30th is also the beginning of Beltane. Beltane is one of the principal Celtic Festivals, dedicated to the God Belinus. It is a Celtic Fire Ceremony, 6 months before Halloween, and the traditional beginning of Summer. (see my post of Halloween here.) Walpurgis Nacht is also halfway between the Spring equinox and the Summer solstice. So, a very important day in the Celtic Calendar. (see my post on May Day).

The Celtic Day began at Dusk, so May Day begins on 30th April. The Christian Church took over many local traditions and adapted them to the calendar of the Church. So a Saint’s Day, is preceded by an Eve. For example, All Hallows’ Day and Halloween, and May Day and May Eve.

In Sweden it is known as Valborg and as Čarodejnice in the Czech Republic.

A day of Uncanny Weirdness?

As May Day was an uncanny period dedicated to Pagan Deities, Walpurgis Nacht became a time when all the weird things are alive in the world. In response, the Christian Church associated a saint to the day to be a focus for defeating witchcraft. So, it is a popular tradition for this Night to see the burning of an effigy of a witch on a bonfire.

Walpurgis Nacht has really been taken over by Heavy Metal, and I refer you this page to begin your journey down a dark rabbit hole of head-banging rock. https://astromagicklounge.com/2021/04/30/celebrating-walpurgis-night-with-black-sabbath-aleister-crowley/

Halloween October 31st

St Erconwald’s Day

Tomb of St Erconwald, destroyed by the Great Fire of London.
Tomb of St Erconwald, destroyed by the Great Fire of London. By Wenceslaus Hollar – Artwork from University of Toronto Wenceslaus Hollar Digital CollectionScanned by University of TorontoHigh-resolution version extracted using custom tool by User:Dcoetzee, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6235771

It is also the Feast Day of St Erconwald. He was a Royal Prince who became one of the most famous Bishops of London (675 and 693). He set up Chertsey Abbey and Barking Abbey which his sister, St Ethelburga, became Abbess of. Not only that, but he was known as the light of London and was responsible for rebuilding St Pauls Cathedral. And helping completing the conversion of the Kingdom of Essex.

You might enjoy reading this alliterative poem of the 14th Century about his life. He is one of the patron saints of London, associated with early pilgrimage and many miracles.

First Published in 2024, revised in April 2025

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Time to guard children against witches April 29th

Witches From ‘The Wonderful Discoveries of the Witchcrafts of Margaret and Phillip Flower’, London, 1618

As May Eve approached, which like Halloween, was considered a particularly uncanny time, people were warned to guard against witches stealing their babies:

He (the Devil) teacheth the witches to make ointments of the bowels and members of children, whereby they ride in the air and accomplish all their desires. So as, if they be any children unbaptized, or not guarded with the sign of the cross or orisons: then the witches may and do catch them from their mother’s side at night, or out of their cradles. …. and after burial steal them out of the graves, then seethe them in a cauldron until their flesh been made possible.

Reginald Scott ‘The Discovery of Witchcraft’ 1594 (from ‘The perpetual Almanack of Folklore’ by Charles Kightley). Please note that Reginald Scott’s book was actually against the idea of witchcraft, i.e. he was debunking it. (for more on Reginald Scott read my post here)

Keeping Witches away

Ways to keep witches away were various, but baptising your children early was the best method. As you will have seen in previous posts, children were normally baptised as soon as possible. Normally, three days after birth in the early modern period.) There were various ways of protecting against witches including saying prayers (orisons), hanging garlic, bread, rowan-leaves, around the cradle.

Witch marks

In archaeological surveys of timber framed buildings increasing numbers of reports of ‘witches’ marks have been discovered. They are now so ubiquitous that it seems most people felt the need to deploy them to secure their houses. Or was it the Carpenters and Builders who felt the need to protect their work? It was believed that witches gained entry where there was an inlet of wind. So doors, windows, chimneys, and anywhere there was a draft. These would be marked by pentagons, which represent the five wounds of Christ. Also used were a variety of other marks ‘chequerboards, mesh patterns, peltas (a type of knot work design) and circle’. https://theartssociety.org/arts-news-features/ancient-symbols-once-used-ward-away-witches is an excellent read and gives more detail.

Also this article makes the case that they are not specifically anti-witch marks, but general marks to ward off evil. This is worth reading. The illustration below comes from the article.

Tam O’Shanter

Robert Burns poem ‘Tam O’Shanter’ gives a graphic, fictional, account of a witches’ coven presided over by the Devil (auld Nick) himself which features ‘wee, unchristen’d bairns‘. Tam, drunk, has come upon a witches coven, presided over by the devil himself.

And, vow! Tam saw an unco sight!
Warlocks and witches in a dance;
Nae cotillion brent new frae France,
But hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys, and reels,
Put life and mettle in their heels.
A winnock-bunker in the east,
There sat auld Nick, in shape o’ beast;
A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,
To gie them music was his charge:
He screw’d the pipes and gart them skirl,
Till roof and rafters a’ did dirl.—
Coffins stood round, like open presses,
That shaw’d the dead in their last dresses;
And by some devilish cantraip slight
Each in its cauld hand held a light.—
By which heroic Tam was able
To note upon the haly table,
A murderer’s banes in gibbet airns;
Twa span-lang, wee, unchristen’d bairns;
A thief, new-cutted frae a rape,
Wi’ his last gasp his gab did gape;
Five tomahawks, wi’ blude red-rusted;
Five scymitars, wi’ murder crusted;
A garter, which a babe had strangled;
A knife, a father’s throat had mangled,
Whom his ain son o’ life bereft,
The grey hairs yet stack to the heft;
Wi’ mair o’ horrible and awefu’,
Which even to name wad be unlawfu’.

I talked more about Tam O’Shanter and the Cutty Sark here and to read the whole poem see below. Please do have a look and when you read it read it quick. Loud and don’t worry about how to pronounce it or understand it, just enjoy the ride!

Tam o’ Shanter

Have a look at my post on the Cutty Sark for more of Tam O’Shanter.

Written in 2023 revised April 2024, 2025

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St George’s Day Again? April 28th

Picture for St George’s Day. St. George, Donatello, 1416-17, Bargello Florenz-03
By Rufus46 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35346561

St George’s Day is normally on 23rd April but not this year!

When St George’s Day falls between Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday after Easter it is transferred to the Monday after the Second Sunday of Easter.

Got that? No, nor did I. Not many people know that. it seems. Last time it happened, Keir Starmer, Theresa May, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan all got it wrong in 2019. The first time I heard about this was 2025, when Keir Starmer appeared to have got it wrong again. A cleric fulminated about illiterate people who get it wrong!

But I think the Church should stop such silly practices. Either it is or it isn’t.

To see my post on St George’s Day please follow this link.

On this Day

1789 Fletcher Christian led the Mutiny on the Bounty. Captain Bligh is buried

1945 Populist, Fascist, Dictator Benito Mussolini captured by partisans and killed.

First Published on 2025 April 28th

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Guernica & War from the Air April 26th 1937

Tiled wall in Guernica after Picasso’s famous painting. Photo By Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK – Guernica, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64155674

Franco ordered the bombing as part of his campaign to overthrow the Basque Government. The Town was badly damaged and 1,654 civilians were killed. It was undertaken by ‘the Condor Legion of Nazi Germany‘s Luftwaffe and the Italian Aviazione Legionaria‘ (Wikipedia). Picasso began his famous painting almost immediately after he heard an eyewitness account of the attack. The iconic painting was finished by 4 June 1937. The bombing showed the potential damage war from the air could do to crowded Cities. The painting became one of the most famous campaigning works of art.

The War from the Air

“The War in the Air” by H. G. Wells. London: George Bell & Sons, 1908. First Edition
Illustration by A. C. Michael of Pall Mall Magazine –

Aerial warfare became a reality as soon as the Montgolfier Brothers flew the first Hot Air Balloon. In the Revolutionary Wars, the French used them for reconnaissance. Napoleon considered transporting troops by balloon in an invasion of Britain. With the arrival of planes and the development of the Zeppelin. Air warfare became a feature of speculative fiction, and began to absorb the planners.

H G Wells book, illustrated above, featured a war between Germany and the United Statesin which New York is obliterated by Aerial Bombing. This was written in 1908

In World War 1 London was the focus of a series of Zeppelin and Aeroplane raids. These killed over 500 people. (see my post on the London Zeppelin raid of Sept 8th 1916). As planes developed in capacity, war departments created plans that seem now to have been exaggerated. It is thought that Appeasement was partly a response to the feared casualties from war in the air. Before the Blitz, the authorities were planning for 1 million killed in London and double that number of people deranged by fear. In the event, casualties were far less, some 43,000 killed. However, 2 million houses were destroyed. The scale of destruction was fairly accurately predicted but the casualties exaggerated.

(see my post on the-ultimate-raf-london-blitz-story)

On this Day

1994 The new South African constitution came into force and democratic elections were held.

First Published on April 26th 2025

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Vortigern April 2nd 1796

Bill for the 1796 play Vortigern and Rowena Public Domain Wikipedia

Content Move April 2nd 2026 to:

https://chr.org.uk/anddidthosefeet/?p=5187

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Heritage with my Grandson 2 – British Library & British Museum March 9th

Grandson on a visit to the British Library and British Museum. Photo of the Beethoven Exhibition, British Library, March 2022

A visit to the Britsh Museum & British Library? I think this might be worth reposting in the absence of anything else compelling for the day!

So this was my outing with my grandson on March 9th 2022.

For our second museum outing we went to the British Library. He didn’t like the Beethoven exhibition. It was too dark and nothing to surreptitiously climb on. He definitely does not like dark exhibitions. This is a shame because it seems to be the design idea of the moment. The Nero and the Stonehenge exhibitions were also dark spaces. The desigers working on creating atmospheric views using bright colours, spot lighting and spectacular objects on a dark background. But it doesn’t work for a sensitive 20 month year old!

Nor did the largely text based Paul McCartney’s Lyrics exhibition attract a second of his attention. ‘Paul who?’ he seemed to be saying as we stumped past to the very quiet sound of ‘Hey Jude’.

What he did like was the escalators. We went up and down, and up and down, and then onto the second set where we repeated the repeat.

British Library – note the escalator to the right

And then we went down and back up again, and no time to see the enigma machine. We ate in the upstairs Restaurant, which is a really pleasant place to spend a lunch time.

Enigma Machine, British Library

Time for him to have a sleep so we walked to the British Museum through Bloomsbury. However, there was very little sign that he wanted to nod off. But we found a couple of interesting revolutionaries of the 19th Century en-route. The first was to Robert Owen, the founder of the Cooperative Movement, famous for his model factories in New Lanarkshire.

Plaque to Robert Owen ‘father of the Cooperative Movement’, Burton Street

Then to Cartwright Gardens, named after John Cartwright, who was called ‘the Father of Reform’. He had quite an amazing life. He refused to serve in the Navy against the American Colonists in the War of Independence. Not only that, but he supported reform of Parliament, universal suffrage, annual Parliaments and secret ballots.

John Cartwright Statue Cartwright Gardens.

The milk soon did its job and my grandson was asleep. So I took him to the Member’s Room for a cup of tea.

Sleep in the Member’s Room overlooking the Great Court

When he woke we whizzed around the third Floor. But he was reluctant to leave his buggy because it was much more crowded than our last visit. Then he could run free around the almost empty galleries which he loved.

But, I was able to visit old favourites like the Portland Vase. This was smashed into hundreds of pieces, in 1848 by a drunken visitor. He threw a sculpture into the case and smashed the vase. It was restored, but 37 pieces were missing. In 1988 the vase was reunited with the missing pieces and expertly restored.

The Portland Vase – 15BC = 25AD Cameo Glass
Plate Cameo Glass 15BC – 25AD

For more exploration of Museums with toddlers see my post: https://www.chr.org.uk/anddidthosefeet/museums-for-toddlers/

First Published 9th March 2022.. Revised and reposted 2025

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Not Archaeology Day 10th February

Yesterday was Almanac of the Past Misinformation Day! I have just found out that you received a post which was not only empty of content but also wrong! Details of that below. But, here are a couple of interesting archaeology projects I have been planning to post about.

Lost Books from the Ancient World

What has excited me most is the news that burnt scrolls from Heraculeum have been digitally unrolled. Then ‘read’ using AI. The scroll was in the library of Julius Caeser’s father in law it is thought. There are over 1,000 carbonised scrolls found in 1750 in the Villa of the Papyri. And this one reveals details of Plato’s last hours. But more than that, the technology opens the possibility of other lost books being discovered. Of the ‘known unknowns’ I would like to see are the lost history books of Tacitus. But perhaps the ‘unknown unknowns’ are even more exciting. What might we find out?

Here is an excellent introduction to the discoveries:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/05/ai-helps-scholars-read-scroll-buried-when-vesuvius-erupted-in-ad79

Cerne Abbas Giant

Cerne Abbas Giant 2017 photo by K Flude

The giant is one of the icons of Hardy’s Dorchester. It is ‘drawn’ or sculpted by cutting the turf to reveal the white chalk below. Chalk Cut figures appear particularly in the South West. The Vale of the White Horse chalk cut figures has been dated to the Late Bronze Age. Most people thought the Cerne Abbas Giant was in the Romano-Celtic tradition so was either pre-Roman, or perhaps Hercules and Roman.

Some dissenters believed the lack of references to the Giant showed that it could not have been cut until the 17th Century. Some even thought it might be a ‘cartoon’ of Oliver Cromwell!

How we laughed!

The National Trust embarked on a project to get the Giant properly dated. They used Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating which had also been used on the White Horse. But the results came back were shocking. It appears to have been cut in the Late Saxon period.

I do admit to a certain amount of scepticism. The art style is similar to British Art of the Iron Age, part of the Celtic Art tradition. Also, how reliable is OSL dating? The process depends on taking soil samples from the soil nearest the chalk, and OSL measures the time since the soil was last exposed to light. It’s a relatively new technology although based on Thermoluminescence dating of pottery which has been around since the 1970s. There was also some corroboration in the form of snails which were not indigenous to the UK?. So a date of 700-1100AD is suggested. And I have nothing other than a gut reaction to the date they propose. Maybe I’m just disappointed by a Saxon date as I have no way of understanding the context.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/dorset/cerne-giant/history-of-the-cerne-giant

Here is a cartoon I really like:

Homer and the Cerne Abbas Giant, Image from Facebook of unknown origin.

Not the Archaeology Day but the Festival of Archaeology?

So, yesterday was not Archaeology Day. But it was last year and run on February 10th by the Council for British Archaeology. This year (2025) they are running their normal Festival of Archaeology from the 19th July to the 3rd of August. It is nationwide, and they have numerous local events which you can check out on their website here.

So how did this happen? I must have seen a reference to an archaeology Day on February 10th, assumed it would be an annual event. So, I added a ‘stub’ post to remind me about it. These, normally are stored in the ‘drafts’ folder, which I will then develop and post. But for some reason, this one got in the ‘Scheduled Posts’ Folder. And as I was working flat out preparing my ‘Jane Austen’s Bath’ Virtual Tour, I did not spot it. So, it was automatically posted. (The VT went very well, thank you very much).

Today, I looked up ‘Archaeology Day 10th February’ and found my post was the number one google source. In normal circumstances, this would be a matter of chest beating. I have been putting significant effort into improving my ‘SEO’ (search engine optimisation). Sadly, I got to the top of Google only because there are only two posts referring to an Archaeology Day on the 10th of February. Mine and a Council of British Archaeology, post who ran the event in York.

So, today is the Not Archaeology Day.

First published on February 10th 2025, and republished on February 11th 2025, text copied to Gemini Post on February 10th, 2026

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The Jorvik Viking Festival February 2025

Screen shot from the Jorvik Viking Festival Site showing all the fun to be had if the Vikings invade your town!

The annual Jorvik Viking Festival is on from Monday 17th – Sunday 23rd February 2025 in York. The illustration above show there are Viking Trails, Feasts, Crafting, Berzerkering and encamping. And more! Visit the web site here.

The excavations under the floor of the Jorvik Centre. Photo K. Flude

York or Jorvik as the Vikings knew it as, has become the centre of all things Viking in the UK. Viking York came to the fore with the Coppergate Excavations in the 1980s. Underneath what is now a shopping mall and Primark, were the streets of Viking York in all its waterlogged glory. The waterlogging allowed the survival of organic material that rarely survives.

Excavation of Jorvik visible under the floor of the Museum. Photo By Chemical Engineer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58524883

At the time, the excavations were a sensation. York Archaeological Trust made a bold decision to turn part of the site into a ‘Dark Ride Experience’. The remnants of the excavation were preserved under glass, and nearby a replica of the townscape was created. Tourists sat in ‘cars’ with an audio guide and given a guided tour. It was very successful. The extensive profits were used for other York Archaeological Trust projects such as the reconstruction of medieval Barley Hall. Other historic towns followed suit and soon there were Dark Rides in Canterbury, London, Oxford and others. All, as far as I know have died a death except for the Jorvik Centre which continues to enthral visitors to York.

Tableau from the Jorvik Centre with Fishermen working. Photo By Chemical Engineer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58524883

The next best thing about Vikings are their colourfull names. Jorvik history vibrates with the deeds of ‘Ivan the Boneless’, Sihtric ‘the Squinty-eyed’and Erik Bloodaxe. For more on nicknames read my post!

First Published in February 2025

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News of Virtual Tours

Sorry to send an additional post but coming up are a couple of fascinating Virtual Tours which I would like to remind you of!

Tonight is an exploration of early 19th Century London. It is based on the 1809 Picture of London Guide book. An original copy was given to me by someone grateful to have attended one of my lectures at the Old Operating Theatre Museum. It is a tour of what Jane Austen could have visited on her walks around London. There are Austen associations, but mainly we are looking at London in 1809.

Jane Austen’s ‘A Picture of London in 1809’ Virtual Walk Mon 7.30 27th Jan25 To book

Yesterday, I was asked to give a Cromwell’s London walk as a 75th Birthday present. I haven’t done one for at least 25 years. But I really enjoyed the research. So added a guided walk and a virtual tour to my programme. This is the first time I have done this VT and it is a cracking story.


The Civil War, Restoration and the Great Fire of London Virtual Tour 7:30pm Thurs 30th Jan25To book

Finally, April is the month we go on pilgrimages, as Chaucer said (in Old English). So, in addition to my Chaucer Walks, I have added a Virtual tour so we can go all the way to Canterbury.


Chaucer’s London To Canterbury Virtual Pilgrimage 7.30pm Friday 18th April 25 To book

I may add one or two more before the Sun comes back

To see all my walks see this page.