Cornwall's 'Bodmin Riding' takes place on the first Saturday in July at the climax of Heritage Day. Garlanded poles carried by horse riders are paraded through the town, - commemorating annual tribute paid to the priory of St Benet at nearby Laniver. On the preceding Friday, ale tasters - visit houses offer householders they visit a sample of the traditional brew; which should have been made last October. The Town Crier proclaims 'To the people of this house, a prosperous morning, long life, health, and merry riding.'

Then any supping the brew receive their second invitation; to pay for it.

Any visitors from Scotland or those that came south and stayed are not likely to be wasting time waiting for St Swithun's Day to be getting worried about forty days of wet weather.

They're much more likely to be off to an early start in ark building if St Martin's Day, July 4 th , lives up to its reputation. St Martin O'Ballymus is the Scot's St Swithun and a classic weather-warning midsummer misery. Thanks to word corruption practised by the French and Italians his day is when the Bullion-mass is celebrated, which gives us the more than faintly familiar advice;

Bullion's Day, gif ye bring rain,

For forty days it will remain.

Bullion's Day gif ye be fair,

for forty days 'twill rain nai mair.

Should readers have and been out on the moors on June 24 th , the so-called Midsummer, there need be no shame in making the mistake that most people when they fail to remember the missing days stolen from our ancestors in the 18 th century. But now is the time to make up for it and celebrate it correctly; on July 5 th which is Old Midsummer Day.

11 th July St Benedict's Day - Bathing Day

St Benedict 480 -550, formulated the 'Rule' that became the guiding light to the Benedictine Monks; all orders of monasticism followed the Rule set down by their founder.

Benedict introduced a strict time-table which included time for prayer, obviously, but also time for developing agriculture, gardening, medicine, and librarianship, all of which earned money for the monastery.

Henry VIII's motive in dissolving the monasteries was first and foremost a financial one - he wanted their money.

Benedict's main tenets were obedience, authority, stability and community life, details of which he set down explicitly in the Rule.

On that ageless dilemma, to bathe or not to bathe, he made the following observations:

'Let baths be granted to the sick as often as it shall be expedient; but to those in health, and especially to the young, baths shall he seldom permitted.'

Children have been keen to invoke Benedict's modest bathing rules ever since.

The Sunday after July 10th is often called, tantalisingly, Forty Feast Sunday. This was meant to be self-explanatory, as 40 feasts were said to fall on that day. Regrettably, no one ever seems to have jotted down just what those 40 feasts were.

Any ideas?

In mid July, around the coast and up the Severn, the fish fairs once held sway Usually starting on a Thursday they were presided over by a Salmon Queen or a Mackerel Queen, or the local favoured fish - Queen. Traditional foods such as Salmon Kettles, or Scuttles, were served; a meal of tea, local salmon, and gooseberry tans. The event begins with the crowning of the Queen and continued with a visiting fair, concerts, parades and in some areas, a rose-show.

First Tuesday after St Margaret's Eve, July 19 th , is the traditional day for Honiton Fair; a Glove fair when the proclamation is made the;

Oyez Oyez the glove is up.

The fair is begun, no man shall be arrested until the glove is taken down.

However, while the glove is still displayed no one should consider they are immune to prosecution so, perhaps the tradition of flinging hot pennies to children has cooled a little over the years. The festivities usually start around noon, but check it out.

Hot pennies thrown to children. The Glove is raised on a pole - the 'hot' pennies are thrown and the children scramble to collect them and set the way for a fun filled day. And there should be a market.

For any gardeners that ignored the advice given months ago 'Cut thistles in May, they grow in a day- Cut them in June, that is too soon,' will be pleased to know that our ancestors went on to say 'Cut them in July then they will die.'

Those gardeners that cut in May and June, and now have twice the amount of thistles they started with can relax a little after their cutting efforts this month.

Anyone out on the moor might note that is generally regarded that 'When the Bracken is down in July - a hard winter is in sight.'

Should the bracken be standing high, and the sun shining on high too, it is perhaps opportune to remember the saying of the Cornish pilchard fishermen that 'July hot spells are best for shoals' and try feasting on fresh local fish.

On 23 rd July 1928, Mr Whitley of Buckland in the Moor -Ashburton began work on the Ten Commandments. His carvings of them on two rocks are well worth a visit and, recently revitalised, can be found on the moor on Buckland Beacon above Buckland.

© Roy & Ursula Radford