BRIDGET WHELAN writer

for writers and readers….

Mrs Finnegan’s Almanac: Rainy Days and Daffodil Days.

I am not entirely sure what happiness is, but I think it must SMELL like Brighton on a daffodil morning when the wind blows from the south and it is NOT raining.

The face of a maid who looks out of the window on wash day and sees that it is raining AGAIN.

10 Things You Probably Do Not Know About Daffodils

  • Mr Wordsworth WROTE a poem about daffodils. You may have missed it as it was called I wandered lonely as a cloud.
  • If you dream about daffodils you will go on a new journey that will end well
  • The ancient Greeks believed that the daffodil was sacred to Apollo because the petals resembled the GOLDEN rays of the sun. (Not that much.)
  • While all daffodils and jonquils are Narcissus, not all Narcissus are daffodils.
  • According to the ancient Greeks, Narcissus was the son of a nymph and a god. Very good-looking, he broke hearts without thinking. To punish him the goddess Nemesis made him fall in love with his own reflection in the water. He fell in and drowned.
  • In Wales, if you are see the first daffodil before anyone else it means gold is coming into your house over the next year. (Don’t get EXCITED it might only be a sovereign.)
  • The Welsh word for daffodil is Cenhinen Bedr which means Peter’s Leek (not to be confused with proper leeks).
  • The leek has been a symbol of Wales since the Battle of Crécy in 1346 when Welsh archers defeated French soldiers in a field of leeks.
  • Mr Wordsworth claims in he saw TEN THOUSAND daffodils. I think he was exaggerating.

Saint of the Week

St Caron – Feast Day March 5

Thought to have a connection with Dyfed in Wales. Perhaps. Maybe.
Nothing else is known about him

The Craft of Conversing

“Conversation is an exercise of the mind; gossip is merely an exercise of the tongue.”
William Ellery Channing

(An American preacher who speaks very well I gather. His grandfather was a signatory to The Declaration of Independence but we must not hold that against him.)

It is all very well ADDING new words to your vocabulary (see below) you must also use them in an appropriate fashion.
When I bring up a subject about which there are differing opinions I desire a GENEROUS exchange of views: too often other people are simply being contentious. I assert while they proclaim; I affirm my estimation of the situation while a disputatious speaker INSISTS on the rightness of their cause.

There are times, of course, when we all are MOVED by emotion when we speak. However, while the sincere make comments that are heartfelt others merely become over-heated. In my own case, I can become impassioned but alas! so many others are cantankerous. When this happens it rarely ends WELL.

Improve your Vocabulary One Word at a Time

BRUMAL means wintery or belonging to winter as in this heartfelt sentence:
Now it is March let us hope that the dark brumal days are behind us and we can enjoy the Daffodil days of Spring

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5 comments on “Mrs Finnegan’s Almanac: Rainy Days and Daffodil Days.

  1. beth
    March 5, 2024
    beth's avatar

    Love the daffodil tidbits

  2. Sarah Waldock
    March 5, 2024
    Sarah Waldock's avatar

    and it is especially important not to mistake a daffodil for a leek in cooking as daffodil bulbs are poisonous.

    The name ‘daffodil’ it is said dates to the 16th century and descended from d’Affodil, the flowers being know as Affodil as a corruption of Asphodel.

    • bridget whelan
      March 5, 2024
      bridget whelan's avatar

      Two more daffodil facts Mrs Finnegan ‘forgot’ to mention

      • Sarah Waldock
        March 5, 2024
        Sarah Waldock's avatar

        … murder mystery writer. I have lists and lists of ways to kill people in ‘accidental’ ways. I was also researching daffs re a horticulturalist in one of my fics so I delved deeply.

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This entry was posted on March 5, 2024 by in Almanac and tagged , , , .

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