Saturday 30 April 2011

May Day Itinerary


Sunrise: 5.40 am

Sunset: 8.30 pm

Sunrise. Beat the bounds of Parson's Wood and then return to Johnny's house for a hearty breakfast.

Mid-morning. Gather ivy for the maypole, pausing in the fields to read 'Spring' from Vita Sackville-West's The Land; Philip Larkin's 'The Whitsun Weddings' (because we've come over all epithalamic after the Royal Wedding) and to begin reading Stella Gibbons' Cold Comfort Farm. Back to Johnny's again for lunch and strawberry upside-down cake.

Afternoon. Prepare rags and ribbons for the maypole and continue reading Cold Comfort Farm. Return to the woods to turn the summer solstice dancing tree into a maypole.

Sunset. An early supper of roast lamb, asparagus, purple sprouting and new potatoes, followed by a final visit to the woods.