Harvest Moon (Oct 6th 25) over Canary Wharf from Wapping. (Photo K Flude).
The Harvest supermoon will rise at 6.20pm, today on October 7th 2025. It looked pretty full last night from my vantage point in a penthouse flat in Wapping. A supermoon is a full moon that occurs when the distance between the Earth and the Moon are at their minimum. So it is bigger and brighter and even more magical.
This one is known as the Harvest Moon or the Hunter’s moon for fairly obvious reasons.
It is definitely the time to play my favourite song.
Sketch of plaque to James Sadler, Balloonist. On wall of Deadman’s Walk, Merton College, the Meadows in Oxford
On February 9th, 1784 James Sadler launched an unmanned Hot Air Balloon, from what is now St Hilda’s College. The Balloon travelled all the way to Kent, 79 miles away. James Sadler was the son of a cook, but worked at the Ashmolean Museum, in Oxford. The launch place is an area of green which is bounded to the North by Merton College. To the South by the Meadows. To the West by Christ Church, and to the East the Oxford Botanical Garden, the first in Britain. Also a lovely place.
Later the same year, he hazarded his own life for the first Hot-air Balloon ascent by an Englishman. On the morning of October 4th, he lit the stove in the Balloon basket to create the hot air. He rose an estimated 3600 ft. On board he had a barometer and a thermometer. He used the Barometer to estimate height. The thermometer was not very useful because of the heat of the stove.
He reported that his elevated position caused no inconvenience, except that it was colder than on the ground. A wind drove him towards a wood as he put out the stove. He had ‘recourse to the Oars’ which he exercised with great Success’. I think the oars were used to poke the air out of the balloon to help his descent. He landed safely 6 miles away in Woodeaton.
Further Flights by Sadler
On the 17th November he ascended in a Hydrogen Balloon, which was also successful. He made further ascents, including one at Mermaid Theatre in Hackney. He survived into his 70s and died in 1828. Sadly, one of his sons died in a ballooning accident in 1824.
Note on the Hackney Balloon Ascent
I found no reference to the Mermaid Theatre in Hackney. But there was a Mermaid Tavern in Mare Street, originally just north of St Augustine’s Church. It was then rebuilt on the other side of the road in the 1740s. And this is where the Hackney flight ascended from.
‘View of Balloon of Mr Sadler’s ascending with him and Captain Paget of the Royal Navy from the Gardens of the Mermaid Theatre’ source Facebook post.
Flights but not by the English!
When it comes to ‘firsts’, there is a lot of jiggery-pokery as to who really has the precedence. The actual first balloon ascent was on November 21st, 1783 by de Rozier and d’Arlandes. Their hot-air balloon was designed by the Montgolfier Brothers.
The first ascent in England was Vincent Lunardi. His flight was a couple of weeks before Sadler’s on September 15th. But then he was from Tuscany. It took off from the Honourable Artillery Company grounds at Moorfields in London.
So Sadler wasn’t the first, but was the first Englishman to ascend in a hot-air balloon. But my antennae is twitched by the use of the term ‘Englishman’. Because, since 1707, and the Act of Union, England was now in the Kingdom: ‘The United Kingdom of Great Britain’. Something was wrong. So yes, I discovered that the British (and Scottish) first ascent was by James Tytler. This took place from Edinburgh on August 25th 1784. To see more on Tytler who was an Apothecary and the editor of the Second Edition of the Encyclopedia Brittania go here:
To read about Zeppelin attacks on Britain see my post here.
A silhouette of a Zeppelin caught in searchlights over the City of London
On October 1 1916, Kapitanleutnant HeinrichMathy’s L31 Zeppelin burst into flames after an attack by the Royal Flying Corp. Near Potters Bar he decided to jump out. He was found by farmers still alive and lying face up but died soon after. All 19 Crew died.
Mathy was one of the most experienced Zeppelin Captains. He began his attacks on London on the night of September 8th 1915. Mathy piloted Zeppelin L 13 across Central London, dropping bombs as they went, from University College London to Liverpool Street Station. See my post here.
The early raids were almost immune from attack. The height the Zeppelins could reach was often beyond the height the defenses could reach. Also RFC’s weapons were mostly unable to badly damage the Zeppelins. The problem was that machine gun fire could not puncture enough holes to shot down the Zeppelins or to set the hydrogen alight. Also Bombs proved ineffective.
But this was to change in the summer of 1916. In June 1915 the RFC tried out John Pomeroy’s explosive bullets. They did not, immediately, convince the authorities they were the answer. Then Flight Lieutenant Brock (from the fireworks family) designed a .303 explosive bullet. Pomeroy continued develping his bullets and in May of 1916, the RFC ordered batches of both bullets. Then followed the development of phosphorous incendiary bullets. And the ‘Sparkler’ a new tracer bullet developed by the Sparkler Soda Siphon Company. Successes against Zeppelins increased. Zeppelin SL.11 was shot down by William Leefe Robinson on 2/3 September 1916. The Zeppelin came to earth at Cuffley. Thousands of London came to see the wreckage on ‘Zepp Sunday’. Robinson won the Victoria Cross.
Later in September other Zeppelins were forced down, and on 1st October, L31 was shot down. Mathy came in via the Suffolk coast, Chelmsford, Harlow and Enfield Lock in North London. The Anti-Aircraft shelling alerted the RFC Fighters. 4 fighters zoned in on Mathy’s Zeppelin. Lt Wulfstan Tempest, strafed the Zeppelin several times to no effect. Then approaching towards the tail of the Airship, he noticed it was glowing red from inside. Then she started to fall. She crashed in Hertfordshire in Potters Bar, not far from the previous downing at Cuffley.
Here, is a podcast originally written for a Zeppelin Walk for London Walks. It includes an eyewitness account by Hugh Turpin of the shooting down of the Zeppelin (SL.11). Please ignore the dates of walks, as this was a couple of years ago. But I am planning to repeat the virtual tour during the winter of 2025/6.
The 15th Century French illustration in the Kalendar of Shepherds shows October as a busy month. It is the time when the cereals are being flailed, the fields ploughed and sown. Perhaps winter wheat or barley or peas and beans?
The 16th Century English text of the Kalendar of Shepherds (read the illustration) shows what a busy month it was, but the writer comes down hard against the month as ‘a messenger of ill news’ the harbinger of cold dark nights.
About the Kalendar of Shepherds.
The Kalendar was printed in 1493 in Paris and provided ‘Devices for the 12 Months.’ I’m using a modern (1908) reconstruction of it using wood cuts from the original 15th Century version. It includes various text from 16th and 17th Century sources. (Couplets by Tusser ‘Five Hundred Parts of Good Husbandrie 1599. Text descriptions of the month from Nicholas Breton’s ‘Fantasticks of 1626. This provides an interesting view of what was going on in the countryside every month.
The star signs of October are the Scales of Libra and the Scorpion of Scorpio.
The star signs of October
Angelic October
Michael is the Angel of Autumn, the Angel of Judgement Day, and the Weigher of Souls. Uriel is the Angel of Libra and was sent by God sent to warn Noah. So the protector against, floods, fire and natural disasters. Scorpio’s Angel is Barbiel, he looks over health, genitalia and doubtful things. (‘An Angel Treasury’, Jacky Newcomb).
You might like to look at my post on Michaelmas here.
Roman October
In the Roman world it was, originally, the 8th Month (octo=8) but then they added January and February to the year. So it became the 10th Month. It was their time to celebrate the new wines of the Harvest. In Britain, the wine harvest is late September to October, but in hotter climes can be from July. But the grapes need to be processed, and the Romans thought that new wine was health giving and celebrated it in October.
Rustic October
But for many people, October is a beautiful month. The dying leaves bring a sophisticated array of rustic colours, which makes the wooded countryside exceptionally beautiful.
Autumn in Haggerston Park, London (photo Kevin Flude)
It can still be warm enough to go for pleasant walks. And the surfeit of the harvest and the culling of animals meant there was plenty to eat before winter austerity begins.
Anglo-SaxonWinter Fall
The Venerable Bede tells us that the month was called Winterfylleth, in the 8th Century. The English divided the year into Summer and Winter. And Winter began for the Anglo-Saxons on the first full moon of October. This means that this year winter begins on 7th October. This is the Harvest or Hunter’s Moon, which is also a supermoon, the first of 3 ending the year.
Celtic October
In Welsh, it is Hydref, which also means Autumn. For the Welsh it was the last month of Autumn and the last month of the year. The Celtic new year, and winter starts on 1st November. The same is true of the Irish Calendar. Autumn is called Fómhair, and October Deireadh Fómhair which means ‘End of Autumn’.
Astronomical & Meteorological Autumn
Astronomically, autumn ends at the Winter Solstice and meteorologically at the end of November. So the Celtic Autumn ends a whole month or more earlier than the other measures. My very personal view is that Winter begins on November 5th more often than not. This is an evening we often spend outside watching the fireworks displays to celebrate Guy Fawkes’ Night. It always seems to be the first time that you feel cold enough to need hat, gloves, and scarves.
Legend says that London was founded as New Troy. Historians believed it was founded as Londinium after the Bridge was built by the legionaries of the Emperor Claudius in AD 43. Archaeologists in the 1970s and 1980s discovered that London was refounded as Lundenwic in the 7th Century and again in the 9th Century when it was called Lundeburg.
This walk tells the epic tale of the uncovering of London’s past by Archaeologists. And provides an insight into the dramatic history of the Capital of Britannia, and how it survived revolts, fires, plagues, and reacted to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. It became the foremost English City but with periods under Viking and Norman control.
We tell the story in the streets of the City of London, beginning in the valley of the River Walbrook by the Temple of Mithras, and visit many sites where important archaeological discoveries were made.
Holborn Edison Electric Light Station First & Last Coal-fired Power Stations
On this day, last year, Britain’s last coal-powered power station generated its final watt of electricity. Ratcliffe-on-Stour’s closure means Britain is the first country to meet its target of phasing out coal.
The Nottingham power station opened in 1968, and once employed over 3000 people.
The first coal-fired power station in Britain was at Holborn Viaduct in London, opened as the Edison Electric Light Station on 12th January 1882.
The power was generated by a steam engine powered by coal. The electricity powered incandescent electric carbon-filament lights which lit up 986 lights to illuminate the road from Holborn Viaduct to St Martin’s-le-Grande. The light bulb was invented 3 years previously.
The number of lights was soon increased to 3,000. But the Station made a loss and was closed down 2 years later. The lights converted to gas. Sadly, the building was destroyed in the Blitz.
Shoreditch Electric Light Station
A couple of miles to the East, in 1895, the Shoreditch Electric Light Station was established. It used waste to produce electricity and steam for the local public baths. The generating and combustion chambers, now houses a Circus School which my children attended.
It was officially opened by Lord Kelvin, the famous physicist in 1897. The Consulting Engineer was Edward Manville who came up with a scheme for a ‘dust destructor’. This comprised: an electricity generating station; a public bath heated by the waste heat from the generator; a library and museum. It cost 200,000 pounds. In 1899, in nearby Nile Street, the Shoreditch Vestry Council set up the first municipal housing scheme powered by electricity.
This level of enterprise by a local council seems like a fantasy of a distant past but also, given the sustainability of the project, unbelievably modern.
The motto on the side of the Power Station was ‘Light and Power from Dust’. The scheme was run by the local vestry council which adopted the motto ‘More Light, More Power’. This was also adopted by the new municipal Borough of Shoreditch when it was formed as part of the new London County Council. The Power Station was renamed as the rather wonderful: Shoreditch Borough Refuse Destructor and Generating Station and adorned with the motto: PULVERE LUX ET VIS ‘Out of the dust, light and power’.
The story of the dust destructor and the generating station is told in some detail here and well worth a read.
Detail from ‘The Creation and the Fall of Man’ by Mariotta Alberinelli 1513-14 showing Archangels helping in the creation of Eve from Adam’s Rib’
September 29th used to be St Michael’s Day, or Michaelmas. But in the 20th Century, the Catholic Church made it the day to celebrate the three chief Archangels and all Angels. Previously, September 29th was for St Michael, March 24th for St Gabriel, and October 24th for St Raphael.
It was an important day in the medieval civil calendar and was the date on which Oxford, Cambridge and the Legal system started their autumn terms. It is also the date the Lord Mayor of London is elected at Guildhall in the City of London.
About this time, the Michaelmas Daisy (an Aster) comes out in profusion. They have been out in my Father’s garden since August, but have only been flowering for a few weeks in my own garden. Here is an old rhyme:
“The Michaelmas daisies, among dead weeds, Bloom for St Michael’s valorous deeds …
The Angelic Host
Personally, I don’t understand what Archangels are doing in a monotheistic religion. They seem to be supernatural demigods which seems odd. The Book of Revelations is one of the most important sources, but they are scattered around the Bible. Perhaps the most famous is the visitation of Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, (see my post here)They are 15 Archangels:Adabiel, Azrael, Chamuel, Gabriel, Haniel, Jeremiel, Jophiel, Melatron, Michael, Raguel, Raphael, Raziel, Sandalphon, Uriel, and Zadkiel.
Melatron has to be my favourite, given his name which sounds like something from a kids superheros cartoon! He is made from the human Enoch and Keeper of the Book of Life so perhaps the most powerful of the Archangels. He is good for relationship, career, and parenting advice!
The Book of Enoch mentions 200 Fallen Angels including Satan, but Alphonso di Spina a 15th Century Monk calculated there were 133 million fallen angels, one third of the original Angelic Host.
What are Angels for? Something to give us hope that somewhere, somehow something might be looking out for us? As Sir Antony Gormley says of the Angel of the North ;“People are always asking, why an angel? The only response I can give is that no-one has ever seen one and we need to keep imagining them.”
On This Day
1564 – Lord Dudley Created Earl of Leicester
‘After the service at St James on Michaelmas Day, Lord Robert Dudley was led by the earls of Sussex and Huntingdon into the queen’s presence chamber. He wore a black gown edged with lace with nineteen pairs of gold aglets on the sleeves. Before him, his brother Ambrose, Earl of Warwick bore his sword, Garter bore his patent and Lord Clinton, Lord Admiral, his cap and coronal. All made obeisance to the queen three times. Lord Robert knelt before her.
Garter gave the patent to Cecil, who read it out aloud. The Earl of Warwick presented the sword to the queen, who put it about the neck of her new Earl of Leicester, putting the point under his left arm and then, while putting his cap and coronal on his head, with a mischievous smile, tickled his neck. Solemn-faced, the new earl gave the queen his humble thanks and arose and went to the council chamber to dinner, trumpets sounding before him.’
From The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth by John Nichols (London, John Nichols & Son, 1823) with thanks to Jan Knights for the information.
Bayeux Tapestry, Harold with moustache swearing an oath, William with pudding basin haircut sitting down at left.
Harold II was scurrying south after almost annihilating the Viking army of Harold Hardrada, when he heard news that the Normans had landed at Pevensey. (see my post (battle-of-stamford-bridge-september-25th-1066)
William was an unlikely Duke because it is very rare for illegitimate children to take the title of their father. It was normally not even considered as an option. A legitimate cousin or uncle would be chosen instead. But he not only got the title and survived many rebellions, but was known as the William the Bastard
He came to England in 1051 to see his distant cousin Edward the Confessor, who was the son of the English King Aethelred the Redeless (the ill advised – more often called ‘the Unready) and Emma of Normandy. Edward, whose marriage to Edith of Wessex was not great, insofar as both made claims to be holy virgins. So, Edward had no children. He, according to William, offered him the throne.
Did he, though? Well, the Pope agreed he did. William claimed that Harold of England accepted William as heir, too. And not only that, Harold, he said, agreed under Holy Oath.
The Bayeaux Tapestry, shows Harold making an oath with his hands on holy relics. But British Historians believe it may never have happened. And if it did, then it was an inadmissable endorsement as it was not freely given, Harold had been detained on a visit in 1064. He was probably never going to get home unless he took the oath.
But the clincher for the English viewpoint is that Harold was the legitimate King because he was elected as was traditional by the Witanagemote, the King’s Council.
But was he really the legitimate claimaint? He had no English Royal blood in him, only a distant touch of Danish royalty on his mum’s side. It is true, that in England, the King’s Council or Witan elected Kings and often did not choose the first in line but preferred the best suited candidate be he brother, cousin or uncle. But Harold was only the brother of the King’s wife, no royal blood there.Â
However, Harold was so powerful that he would have prepared the ground for his election irrespective of whether this was the freely given choice of the Witan. His father, Earl Godwin, had been a disloyal and over mighty subject of King Edward, but had prepared the way for Harold to be virtual ruler of the country long before the King died.
So, even if the Witan’s endorsement clearly choose Harold there was plenty of scope for a contested succession.
In late September 1066 Harold was the English King who had already defeated the Norwegian claimant. Now, he was rushing to put to rest the Norman claim.
William Prepares for Conquest
William had begun by getting Pope Alexander II’s blessing for his claim to the English throne. He spent 10 months planning the invasion. He recruited adventurers from Normandy, France, Brittany, and Flanders. His allies collected boats for the invasion, while William had hundreds of new boats built, using thousands of carpenters, metalworkers, carters etc and cutting down a vast number of trees.Â
The boats were ready by 12 August near Caen on the River Dives. They set sail, but contrary winds blew them into Saint Valery-sur-Seine. Winds in the summer are usually blowing south on that coast, and William had a long, frustrating wait for a north wind.
Meanwhile, Harold was waiting with his army and a 400 ship navy at his manor of Bosham, near Chichester, on the South Coast. Then he heard about the Norwegian invasion of the North. He probably hoped it was getting too late in the year for William to risk invasion. So, Harold decided, on September 18th, to go North with his army, which was the more immediate risk to his throne.
Map of the the progress of William;s fleet. Opinion suggests landing was on 28th September 1066
On September 27th, the north winds blew, the Normans embarked, and on the 28th of September William and his boat, given as a present to him by his wife, found themselves alone in the Channel off the English coast.
After an anxious wait, the rest of the fleet was spotted sailing towards William. They landed at Pevensey. Built a castle at Hastings and proceeded to ravage the land of Harold’s homeland. Harold had by now destroyed the Norwegian threat at Stamford Bridge on 25th September. He heard William had landed and rushed towards London
List of plays performed in February 1596 by the Admiral’s Men
‘Crack me this Nut’ was performed by the Admiral’s Men at the Rose Theatre in Southwark, London. One of the dates it was performed was on September 25th 1595. As you can see, above, it was also performed on February 7th 1596. You can find the other dates it was performed, and the income generated in this blog from Henslowe’s papers. In fact, the play was performed 16 times in all, then sold by Edward Alleyn. Sadly, no one knows what it was about. It might relate to the sense of our phrase ‘a tough nut to crack.’
The list of February dates for the Admiral’s Men is from my dossier for my Shakespeare’s London walks. I’m not entirely sure of the book I photocopied it from, but it derives from the wonderful archive of Philip Henslowe and his leading actor, Edward Alleyn. Henslowe’s records were stored in a locked trunk for 260 years.
2023 marked the completion of the project to bring this archive to the public. And here is the Henslowe-Alleyn Digitisation project. As well as digitising the Archive, elements that had been separated from the original archive have been brought back, so the greatest archive of information on the Shakespearean theatre is now unified and available. It is an immense benefit for the Shakespeare industry.
I searched the archive for ‘Crack me this nut’ but their search engine searches for anything that mentions ANY of the words, and as the word ‘this’ is in virtually everything in the archive, the search is effectively useless. Putting ‘Crack me this nut’ in quotes does not help. I have emailed them!
A subscriber sent me another link which has various speculations, and the following entry.Â
Master Ponsonby. Entred for his copie vnder the hands of the Wardens A booke Intitled The Paragon of pleasaunt histories . . . vjd Or this Nutt was neuer Cracked Contayninge a Discourse of a nobl[e] kinge and his Three sonnes (S.R.1, 3.57 / Fol. 7)
I often use this list of plays performed in February 1596 in the walks and lectures I give on Shakespeare. It shows you how hard-working Shakespeare’s contemporaries were. The actors’ companies were essentially small repertory companies. This list shows that the Admiral’s Men performed 14 different plays, on 23 days, if I count correctly, in the short month of February. This is in a winter month. Now, the guides at the rebuilt Globe tell you the Shakespearian Playhouses were used in the Summer. No! This was deep winter and 23 performances in an outdoor theatre in February! Imagine what a modern actor would think of that work load.
A badly photocopied page of the archive.
First published on February 7th 2023, and revised and republished on September 25th 2024, and 2025
Following the Viking victory at the Battle of Fulford Bridge, York, on September 20th the Viking army camped at Stamford Bridge.This was on the River Derwent. Here they intended to rest and celebrate the defeat of the English Earls of Mercia and Northumbria. They were unaware that King Harold I of England had left London for the north on September 18th. (See my post on the Battle of Fulford Bridge here.)
Five days later, on September 25th, Harold’s army surprised the Vikings by marching towards the bridge over the Derwent. It is said that Harold’s army marched 185 miles from London in 4 days which is a scarcely believable 46 miles a day. But if they left on 18th and battle was 25th that’s as much as 7 days. This still means 26 miles a day which is still very quick for an army carrying weapons and armour. So no wonder the Vikings were surprised!
According to tradition, a large Viking held the English army as he blocked the narrow wooden bridge across the river. No one could defeat him. But an enterprising English soldier found a boat, floated under the bridge and killed the Viking by pushing his spear through the bridge timbers, killing the Viking.
According to the 13th Century Icelandic historian, Snorri Sturlson, the fight began only after a rider approached the Viking Army. He offered Harold’s Brother, Tostig back his Earldom if he would withdraw from the fight. Tostig asked what would be in it for his ally, the King of Norway? The reply was ‘Seven feet of English ground, as he is taller than other men’. The offer was refused. It was said that the rider was King Harold himself.
Once over the Bridge, the English found the Vikings had formed a defensive formation. However, they had left their armour behind at their boats.  The battle lasted all day but ended with the slaughter of most of the Vikings. King Harold Hardrada, one of the greatest warriors of his age and Tostig were both killed. The extent of the slaughter is shown by the fact that of the 300 boats of the Viking army, only 24 returned to Norway.
A boat of the period, derived from the Bayeaux Tapestry
A stunning victory for Harold I. But, the English had suffered terrible losses at the battle of Fulford. Harold had also left the South Coast unguarded And three days later, on September 28th, William, Duke of Normandy landed with his army at Pevensey. 256 miles south.
