Today is St Patrick's Day, but who was Patrick? Where did he live? What did he wear and what did he eat for tea?
We asked Josie to do a bit of research for us and she immediately twaddled away to the Library, her little head outstretched as she hurriedly purposefully along. The rummaging through Harvest's vast store of reference could be heard as far away as the Water Tower.
"He is the Patron Saint of Ireland! Today is his Feast Day!"
That sounded promising.
"Oh! How sad!" Josie looked down in the beak as she paused and read the tatty old scrappage of parchment. We held our breath.
"He was kidnapped by Irish Pirates when he was just a boy and taken to Ireland to guard a flock of sheep."
We bowed our heads and waved our wattles.
"But he escaped!"
Yay!
"It says here that whilst he was a shepherd God told Patrick to run to the coast where a ship would be waiting to take him home. Then he studied to become a priest and returned to Ireland to spread the word of Christianity."
Oh.
"And he originally wore blue - but now he is depicted wearing green. So if you celebrate St Patrick's Day today you have to wear something green."
This is tricky. We could don a nettle leaf or two.
"Not sure how right this bit is. I think Patrick drank whiskey for tea. He went into an Inn and the barman served him a measure that was far short of what it should have been. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil who fed on the dishonesty of the innkeeper. In order to banish the devil, the man must change his ways. When St. Patrick returned to the hostelry some time later, he found the owner generously filling the patrons' glasses to overflowing and he proclaimed that thereafter everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day."
Seems as if a trip to The Pooch and Pullet may be the order of the day.
Gordon xxx
We asked Josie to do a bit of research for us and she immediately twaddled away to the Library, her little head outstretched as she hurriedly purposefully along. The rummaging through Harvest's vast store of reference could be heard as far away as the Water Tower.
"He is the Patron Saint of Ireland! Today is his Feast Day!"
That sounded promising.
"Oh! How sad!" Josie looked down in the beak as she paused and read the tatty old scrappage of parchment. We held our breath.
"He was kidnapped by Irish Pirates when he was just a boy and taken to Ireland to guard a flock of sheep."
We bowed our heads and waved our wattles.
"But he escaped!"
Yay!
"It says here that whilst he was a shepherd God told Patrick to run to the coast where a ship would be waiting to take him home. Then he studied to become a priest and returned to Ireland to spread the word of Christianity."
Oh.
"And he originally wore blue - but now he is depicted wearing green. So if you celebrate St Patrick's Day today you have to wear something green."
This is tricky. We could don a nettle leaf or two.
"Not sure how right this bit is. I think Patrick drank whiskey for tea. He went into an Inn and the barman served him a measure that was far short of what it should have been. St. Patrick took this as an opportunity to teach a lesson of generosity to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper that in his cellar resided a monstrous devil who fed on the dishonesty of the innkeeper. In order to banish the devil, the man must change his ways. When St. Patrick returned to the hostelry some time later, he found the owner generously filling the patrons' glasses to overflowing and he proclaimed that thereafter everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day."
Seems as if a trip to The Pooch and Pullet may be the order of the day.
Gordon xxx
