Swithun

Swithun is really more a groundhog than a saint. If it rains on Saint Swithun's Day it will rain for forty more days. So, is it raining where you are?

While alive he was an advisor to the king & while barely alive he (apparently) requested to be buried out of doors. I had no idea indoors was an option in 852 but there you are. His weather-management came later, when his cathedral was expanded, remodeled, etc. & they made to move his remains inside. But they could not because...can you guess? Forty days of rain.

Is it me or do parts of this sound familiar?

The last time I had this feeling was reading the review of Mamma Mia in the New Yorker. I know, I know, they always give away the end, but it was the only magazine in A's bathroom that was not the journal of the American Physical Society or -my personal favorite- Vaccuum Technology & Coating. As I read the review, I was reminded of a very silly movie I used to watch on tv, back when cable was just a twinkle: Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell. The last time before that, I remember being tricked into watching Keanu Reeves reprise a role I am convinced was originally played by George Segal. & Wikipedia says I might be right. So there.

Before anyone gets too excited about the groundhog being totally divorced from this loop, you should do a little multiplication & discover that 6 more weeks of winter is exactly 42 days. If you are hoping for rain on Saint Swithun's Day, let me suggest invoking the Patron Saint of Rainmakers.