Friday, June 21, 2013

Celebrating the Summer Solstice



Today is our last day at Newbold House and given we are in the northern hemisphere it is the summer solstice.  In Scotland, this means 18 hours of daylight on the day when the tilt of the earth is most inclined toward the sun.  I won’t say 18 hours of sunshine because most of the day has been shrouded in cloud although the sun was streaming through my window for all of 15 minutes just after 6pm J and yet I wasn’t brave enough to actually remove my jumper!  It is our last day of volunteering here and we start the day by harvesting salads, garlic, purple broccoli and other goodies for our lunchtime feast. 


Being the solstice, everyone in the house has gathered for a little ceremony in the garden just before lunch.  Christopher has created a lcircle of flowers with 4 arrangements to represent the four elements – earth, wind, water and fire.   We hold hands while Christopher reminds us that we have come from the darkness of winter to the light of summer.  The birds are chirping all around us, and the scent of the incredible flowers in the garden heightens our senses. 

It is warm enough for us to have a picnic outside.  We feast on spinach and feta pie and the salads from the garden.  Today, we celebrate with a desert of fresh mixed berries and ice cream.  It is a happy occasion and a wonderful celebration and we are glad to have escaped a winter in Australia - although the temperature was probably not that much different!!  Happy summer/winter solstice my friends! 


"I cannot pretend to be impartial about colours.  I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns. " Winston Churchill

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