Well, I had really promised myself that I would no longer get tied down to a schedule of time-sensitive posts but I can’t ignore the fact that today is Lammas, one of the four Celtic fire festivals held to celebrate significant dates in the agricultural calendar. It was only last year at the time of the autumnal equinox that I discovered The Wheel Of The Year and I’ve made a point of writing a post on each of the dates as they occur – Today, the 1st of August, completes the annual cycle.
Lammas, meaning “loaf mass” is a festival celebrating the first harvests and is represented by those first loaves baked from the new year’s crops. Mr WIAA did pick up a nice crusty loaf from the supermarket this morning, but better than that, he also picked up a few punnets of strawberries and cherries which are ripe for being harvested at this time of year. The featured song to accompany this post therefore has to be this one:
Summer Wine by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood:
I don’t know how it’s happened, but it was not until I wrote about Nancy Sinatra earlier on this year (link here) that I discovered all the wonderful duets she recorded with Lee Hazlewood. It was Lee who wrote Summer Wine in 1966 but it was not a hit until he recorded it with Nancy the following year. I have always had a bit of a girl crush on Nancy, perhaps because that was the era of those highly unrealistic looking dolls we all “had to have” in the sixties, and Nancy certainly was doll-like.
As for Lee Hazlewood, he had a really distinctive baritone voice which I absolutely adore and his collaborations with Nancy Sinatra, as well as his solo output in the late ’60s and early ’70s, contributed to a sound often described as cowboy psychedelia. Check out that line, “Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time“.
It has been a feature of these landmark dates in nature’s calendar for me to say that we are going to have a little soirée for friends and neighbours – Sadly today has been really wet so not suitable for doing anything outdoorsy, and to be honest, this date kind of crept up on me as it wasn’t one I was previously familiar with at all. There is apparently a bank holiday next Monday but today is a boring old work day so other than enjoying some of the bread and strawberries purchased earlier on today, it’ll be a quiet night in for us.
Highly relevant however is the symbolism of today’s date as only yesterday I handed in my notice at work and will no longer be bread-winner. Mr WIAA’s quota of summer wine will be curtailed, but he is ok with that (he says!). Yes, I discovered the wonderful world of blogging and like Chandler Bing, can no longer get my head round the relentless processing of sometimes meaningless numbers, in order to produce the WENUS reports (but you probably need to be a Friends fan to get that one!).
So, “What’s it all about?” – Sometimes we have to do something a little bit scary just to find the impetus to explore new avenues. Actually it’s more than “a little bit scary” and on the hour, every hour, I want to tell them I’ve changed my mind BUT I will then hurtle toward retirement without ever having put myself in the position of trying new things. It’s now or never (as Elvis sang).
As for Summer Wine – Sounds like a bit of a euphemism to me but when I offer some to Mr WIAA tonight it will most definitely be the kind that comes in a bottle. He can leave his silver spurs at the door thank you very much, as I’m going to be far too busy planning for the future.
Happy Lammas!
Summer Wine Lyrics
(Song by Lee Hazlewood)
Strawberries cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
I walked in town on silver spurs that jingled to
A song that I had only sang to just a few
She saw my silver spurs and said lets pass some time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine
Strawberries cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohhh-oh summer wine
My eyes grew heavy and my lips they could not speak
I tried to get up but I couldn’t find my feet
She reassured me with an unfamiliar line
And then she gave to me more summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine
Strawberries cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine
When I woke up the sun was shining in my eyes
My silver spurs were gone my head felt twice its size
She took my silver spurs a dollar and a dime
And left me cravin’ for more summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine
Strawberries cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine
What's It All About? 
That reminds me, my silver spurs could do with a polish. I nearly said lick and spit but didn’t want to turn this into a Carry On film script!
Good luck with everything you decide to turn your hand to.
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Sorry but for some reason your comments end up in the spam folder so just found this one!
No matter – a belated thanks for the good wishes. I think I may need them as not easy out there. Time will tell.
Yes those silver spurs – perfect bit of imagery for country psychedelia.
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Good luck with the next phase of your life, Alyson. You’ll do great!
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Thanks – I really hope so! Too many things to juggle at the moment and it turns out I didn’t want to give up the blogging – Funny how life turns out sometimes.
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Happy Lammas Alyson.
Always good to hear Lee and Nancy.
From your recent posts you were clearly not enjoying the changes at work and for the sake of your health you have done the right thing. As YAB above says I’m sure you will easily turn your hand to something else.
Bonne chance.
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You’re right – always good to hear a bit of Lee and Nancy.
Yes I have mentioned it all just a few times! They took away my desk, my stationery, even the walls and gave me a bigger job with more hours – Funnily enough though it has been the taking away of the car park that has been the final straw – If like me you have to drop by an elderly parent a couple of times a day, the eco-bike solution was never going to work (although I would have been fit and healthy, if not roadkill first).
We have a perfectly viable business that is in cold storage at the moment so time to get that going again – Think I might even start a blog for it as well with all my new found skills! Thanks for the good wishes.
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Thanks for the video and song lyrics – one I knew of, but had never really listened to. Good luck for a bright future.
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It’s a great song and I am smitten by the Nancy/Lee partnership – It was meant to be.
Thanks for the good wishes – It will be a lot less stressful that’s for sure and being your own boss is always preferable. I will no doubt write about it all here (as that’s just the kind of person I am!).
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Am I the only one who saw ‘Llamas’ when reading the title of your post? Hmmmm. Just me then.
Good luck for the future Alyson – onwards and upwards!
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No, I think it’s just you! Thanks for the good wishes – At least you won’t have to hear me whinge about it all any more. Onwards and upwards as you say.
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Happy Lammas! And such a great song choice. It’s Summer and I’ve just drunk a very big glass of wine, so it’s very appropriate (and the thought of Lee in silver spurs is rather nice too…) As for you – well, your words “..sometimes we have to do something a little bit scary just to find the impetus to explore new avenues…” are so true and I couldn’t agree more. All power to you, Alyson. I wish you all the very best for this new chapter – I truly believe in the saying that “fortune favours the bold” 🙂
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Yes, I have always loved that line about the strawberries and cherries (and silver spurs!) so perfect for this post.
As for my bold decision, to be honest you must all be fed up of me going on about it, so high time something was done. I really don’t think I would have made this move if I hadn’t taken up blogging, but it has taken up so much of my time that something had to give. I am hopeful that if I put in the effort, our little neglected business will find its feet again. I was concerned to see that your WYCRA chums had called time on their blog and took the radical step of deleting the site – Hope it was nothing to do with time pressures on their part. Sad to see something disappear like that though.
Like you I will soon be home-based in the shedio/garagio – Exciting times but I must restrict my time on the blogosphere or nothing will get done!
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You finally took the plunge. Well, congratulations and best of luck. I’m sure you’ll make a success of whatever you do next.
Nancy & Lee can do no wrong in my book.
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Yes, I’ve dithered about for a few months now but it had to happen – My thinking is that the more people I tell, it becomes impossible to have a change of heart, which would be all too easy.
My local radio station is a mere stone’s throw away – I’m maybe about 40 years too late but I wonder if they might need any volunteers?!
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Abandon all hope if you do…
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Sounds like you are looking forward to having more free time in your daily life. Good luck with the next chapter! Not familiar with Lee Hazlewood, will google him
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Thanks – Hopefully not too much free time though as I will still have to earn my living, but hopefully in a less stressful way!
Lee Hazlewood is wonderful – The label Country Psychedelia fits him perfectly. Very ’60s and way before your time, but somehow timeless as well.
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