Nige visits one of the most touching monuments in the country... Ashbourne in Derbyshire is a fine and flourishing town, full of handsome buildings, including the house of John Taylor, Dr Johnson's old schoolfriend, whom he often visited. A most unclerical cleric, Taylor's chief interest lay in his herd of milch-cows - ... Read More...
Dabbler Country
Out and about
Fiery sacrifices, outdoor sex and morris dancing at dawn - Professor Nick Groom guides us through the cultural history of May Eve and May Day... Restless and mischievous and downright evil spirits are particularly active at turning points of the year. So like Hallowe’en (31 October), the thirtieth of April is ... Read More...
What do the unsettling and astonishing multi-generational migratory habits of the monarch butterfly tell us about humans?... The multiple life stages of butterflies were strangely upsetting to me as a boy. Their transformations were supposed to inspire wonder, and the eruption of the adult butterfly from the pupa, I was told, ... Read More...
This coming Monday is Michaelmas, so you've still got time to get yourself a goose. Just make sure you don't pick any blackberries afterwards. Professor Nick Groom explains.... September 29 is Michaelmas: the Feast of Michael and All Angels. It was also one of the four quarter days of the English business ... Read More...
Forget Glastonbury and the Notting Hill carnival - the Bartholomew Fairs of old would have dwarfed them, and far outdone them for debauched behaviour too. For his August post, Prof Nick Groom looks at England's history of late summer fairs... The end of harvest in England was usually celebrated in the ... Read More...
Today is St Swithin's Day, and if it's raining you can expect another forty days' worth of it. But why? As ever, Prof Nick Groom is our guide to English legends, lore and seasons... In the Roman calendar, this month was named Julius to honour Julius Caesar. In English this was ... Read More...
Today is midsummer, and Professor Nick Groom turns his attention to the woods. Trees are a special part of our national identity, and they need us as much as we need them... Woods occupy a special place in the imaginative topography of England. The greenwood is the haunt and habitat of ... Read More...
Visiting Stonehenge this half-term? Here's Alexandra Harris' post on its influence on British culture, from Turner to Hepworth... Stonehenge is a good example of how a particular landmark in the English countryside could inspire different kinds of appreciation. Its image was particularly potent because it signified strength and endurance while at ... Read More...
From speaking in tongues to cheese rolling in Gloucester, this month Professor Nick Groom looks at the origins, customs and meaning of Whitsun... Whit Sunday is the seventh Sunday after Easter, also known as ‘Pentecost’ (from the Greek for fiftieth, counting inclusively). It is therefore part of the cat’s cradle of Eastertide dates ... Read More...
It's cuckoos, buck deer farts and alternative St George's day festivities this month, as Professor Nick Groom looks at the English April... What does a cuckoo sound like? Silly question: ‘cuck-oo!’ So imagine my surprise when a university lecturer confessed to me that she didn’t know and couldn’t recognize this seasonal ... Read More...
