Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day

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Snick, snack, the pan’s hot,
We’re come a shroving
Strike while the iron’s hot –
Something’s better than nothing.
Flour’s cheap and lard’s dear
And that’s why we come a shroving here …
(Rhyme from Drayton near Abingdon quoted in May Day to Mummers – Folklore and customs in Oxfordshire.)
Shrove Tuesday
Children no longer beg their neighbours for ingredients for pancakes. To help us prepare for Pancake Day, the supermarkets in Abingdon each had a little display of a ready made pancake mix – massively reduced , together with JIF Lemons and maple syrup, and even eggs and flour in some places.
Shrove Tuesday
I probably did not follow the instructions properly with the pancake mix, as I ended up with some pale sloppy pancakes that stuck to the pan. After the third attempt I gave up.
Shrove Tuesday
But we do still have the basics: an egg, 3 oz (75g) flour, 5 fl oz (150ml) of milk and a pinch of salt.
Shrove Tuesday
That worked so much better, and came in under half the price of the pancake mix.

More Shop Moves Imminent

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Shop Moves
It was a surprise to see, this evening, that there is a Closing Down Sale at The Shoe Shop of Abingdon. This independent shop sells quality shoes and handbags, and there has been a shoe shop on that site for many years.
Shop Moves
The shop unit in Bury Street between Card Factory and Holland and Barrett is being worked upon, as though somebody is about to move in.
Shop Moves
There is also work underway at Coxeter House now that Abode have moved out.

A Misty Start in Abingdon

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A Misty Start
Rowers from Abingdon School, and Abingdon Rowing Club, are often to be seen out – early – on one of the best stretches of the River Thames – that is the stretch between Abingdon Bridge and Culham Lock.
A Misty Start
The willow tree leaning from the Margaret Brown gardens trails weeping branches near the water.
A Misty Start
The adult swans have parted company from their young. I read, while investigating the origins of Valentine’s Day yesterday, of an old Oxfordshire country notion that birds start pairing up from February 14th.
A Misty Start
The mist soon lifts and, as the sky turns blue, St Helen’s Church becomes as clear as the Iron Bridge.

St Valentine’s Day Quiz

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St Valentines Day Quiz
1. What is the date of St Valentine’s Day?
St Valentines Day Quiz
2. How many millions of pounds are spent on flowers for St Valentine’s Day in the UK each year?
St Valentines Day Quiz
3. Which English Monarch declared St Valentine’s Day to be a holiday?
St Valentines Day Quiz
4. Which Roman Emporer had the original St Valentine put to death for defying the rule forbidding young soldiers from marrying?
St Valentines Day Quiz
5. What is a Valentine Rant?

(questions 1-4 from “Perfect Pub Quiz” by David Pickering.)

Answers …
1. February 14th
2. £22m
3. King Henry VIII
4. Cladius II
5. Find out this evening at the Royal British Legion but possibly along the lines of “… And as for all those stupid “Roses are red, violets are blue” poems… Violets are purple you idiots!….”