There’s a very old English proverb “Ne'er cast a clout
'til May be out! The proverb can be traced as far back as 1732. Clout is an old
English word for clothing and I’ve always understood the saying to mean never
cast aside any items of winter clothing until the May blossom is out.
Well, the May blossom or hawthorn blossom is certainly out
but you certainly don’t want to be casting any clouts. Now the thing is there’s
always been some doubt about whether the proverb refers to May blossom or the
month of May. Perhaps this year has proved the point that the proverb
really does refer to the month and not May blossom as this year with the
blossom in full flower you certainly needed all your winter clouts.
Through Sunday the temperature gradually fell from
around 14°C at midnight on Saturday to 3°C by midnight on Sunday. There was a
cool north easterly wind blowing too. The lowest temperature in the early hours of Monday morning was 1.6°C and on Tuesday morning was 1.3°C. These are the lowest temperatures for so late into May in the last 10 years.
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| Climatological Summary for May 2020 |
The forecast is for the temperatures to
recover slowly as the week progresses although there are some forecasts for the temperature to fall below 0°C (32°F) on Thursday morning.
Posts
Forecaster still threatening 0C tonight - when will this end? I have deployed fleece in readiness for planting out courgettes and squashes. Do I dare?
ReplyDeleteMissed these comments - Courgettes and squashes didn't survive in greenhouses on our allotment site. Mine were tucked up under the growlight in the bedroom.
DeleteBloom is everywhere... lovely
ReplyDeleteThere's lots of hawthorn or May blossom in flower in road side hedgerows. It look fantastic for a couple of weeks.
DeleteYou might explore more or these old sayings in relation to your experiences in Yorkshire. Fascinating. I always thought that clout meant power but now I think that a cloutie dumpling must have be wrapped in cloth. I love the English language.
ReplyDeleteI think you are correct about clout meaning power. I seem to think there is a Yorkshire expression about giving someone a clout around the ear - meaning to hit someone around the ear.
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