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Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 1:28 am
by matt h
RECENT PUBLICATION INFORMED ME THAT UNTIL 1752 MAYDAY WAS ACTUALLY 11 MAY...and not may 1st
Mayfair in london took its name from the huge fair held there in the month of may, which was abolished late in the 18th century ..probably something to do with the illicit gambling and prostitution going on a reputation not entirely shaken off!
any other may related quips? ???
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 7:28 am
by lutonlagerlout
i was under the impression matt that mayday was the first monday in May,i.e. this year it was the 6th
??
LLL
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 2:46 pm
by Bob_A
matt h wrote:any other may related quips? ???
How about
Perhaps the silliest of our Bank Holidays is the early May one, introduced in 1978 by the the Callaghan Labour government as a sop to the unions who had wanted a holiday on May Day, celebrated in many countries around the world as International Workers’ Day. But they bowed to pressure from business who didn’t like the idea of a holiday that might be on any day of the week, and instead of May 1, made it the first Monday of the year. So Britain’s workers either have to take a day off work or miss May Day celebrations except in those years where it happens to fall on a Monday.
Taken from
http://re-photo.co.uk/?p=280
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 5:42 pm
by lutonlagerlout
easter is about the same , its the 4th full moon minus four day and 7 minutes after you get your first bit of plant nicked 3 days after your worst hangover in the new year
or summat like that
lol
LLL 
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 10:09 pm
by Tony McC
May day has been a holiday/festival since time immemorial (which means before Thatcher, I think). In the pre-roman celtic cuulture of these islands it was known as Bealtaine or Beltane, which supposedly derives from "Baal's Fire". It's still half-heartedly celebrated in the celtic nations: in Scotland there's a big fire in Edinburgh on the evening before Beltane, and in Ireland it is said to be the day that the Gaels arrived in the country.
Whatever the truth behind the legend, it certainly pre-dates Sunny Jim and his need to keep the unions on-side.
Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 11:33 pm
by lutonlagerlout
thing i really like about this week of the year is the flowers on the horse chesnuts and the clematis montana etc etc
blue tits chasing each other round the garden
certainly beats digging footings by hand in early december
LLL
Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 6:15 am
by seanandruby
Good thing about May is..... we get two bank holidays.