Spring Equinox: Day 7

It's the big day! The culmination of our week of Spring Equinox celebrations (and the equinox itself, of course)! And I had lots of things planned for today.

Bailey’s Wood Walk and Talk

First up, I led a Spring Equinox Walk and Talk session for Friends of Bailey's Wood, spotting all the signs that spring has sprung in the woods (with cake and Vimto afterwards).

Castlerea Poetry in the Park

After the woods, I took the housemates from Castlerea Care Home to Crumpsall Park for a Spring Equinox Poetry in the Park session. We had a lovely time, with seasonal poetry and snacks, and a wander round the park looking for daffodils, blossom and buds.

Gingerbread Popcorn

A little late afternoon seasonal snack (it's got a rabbit on the packet so I'm counting it)... Gingerbread Popcorn from Joe and Seph's!

Spring Equinox Dinner

This evening, Rob cooked us the traditional Spring Equinox dinner of Vegetable Paella.

Spring Equinox Gifts

And we exchanged our traditional Spring Equinox gifts and cards. These whiskies will go into our tasting sets to be enjoyed in December.

Night of the Lepus

We watched our (now) traditional Ostara film tonight... Night of the Lepus!


And so the wheel of the year turns. We'll be celebrating again at Beltane.

Spring Equinox: Day 3

Another day of celebrating the beginning of spring, and today was a bit of a busy one. Lots of seasonal fun today!

Crumpsall Park Spring Equinox Walk

I started the day by leading a Spring Equinox walk for Friends of Crumpsall Park. The sun was shining, and it was warmer than it's been, so it really did feel like spring was in the air.

Blossom Watch

On the way home from the park I saw two beautiful cherry blossom trees in bloom. They look like candy floss!

Hannah’s Bookshelf Spring Equinox Special

Today was the first ever Spring Equinox Special on Hannah's Bookshelf, my weekly radio show on North Manchester FM. I talked about spring folklore, played some spring-themed music, and then shared some original Equinox-inspired bite-size short stories by contributors to the show. I also made some more white chocolate and Parma Violets cupcakes for the volunteers at the centre where our studio is based.

Chocolate Popcorn

Okay, this one's advertised as an Easter treat, but as far as I'm concerned anything with a bunny rabbit on the packet is perfect for the Spring Equinox! Little snack for after my radio show... Trio of Chocolate Popcorn from Joe and Seph's!

Ostara Wax Melts

We bought a new wax diffuser last year, but we couldn't use it at Imbolc in case it aggravated the horrible coughs we got with one of the many colds we've had so far this year. But we've fired it up for spring, and this season we've got bunny rabbit shaped Black Plum and Rhubarb melts from Mysteria Melts.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons by Candlelight

Going to see a performance of Vivaldi's Four Seasons by Piccadilly Sinfonietta is now an annual tradition for us. It was part of our Imbolc celebrations for the past two years, but this year their performance at St Ann's Church fell during our Spring Equinox celebrations. It felt like this made more sense, as the Four Seasons does start with spring after all!

Hot Cross Bun Pie

We stopped off at McDonald's on the way home from the concert. Again, this seems like it might have been intended as an Easter special, but I think a Hot Cross Bun pie is seasonal enough for the Spring Equinox.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 13

Well, I'm still ill, but the show must go on. For the first time this week, I managed to fit in a little bit more than just a tea and a story (but I'm absolutely shattered now as a result). I did find a way of making my horror cold work for me though...

Today's Tea

Tonight's tea was Witches Brew from Pentacle Herb Store. It's hibiscus, rosehip, elderberry, orange, lemon and mulled wine spices. And it tastes, as you might imagine, like mulled wine. (I've definitely had way more hibiscus than pumpkin so far this year.)

Today's Story

Tonight's classic tale of horror is 'The Terror of Blue John Gap' by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Tonight's Halloween Look

I wanted to go for a Woman in Black vibe for tonight's Facebook live event. The one saving grace of being so poorly is that I didn't need any white face make-up, I could just lean in to the deathly pallor I'm currently sporting.

Ghost Story Readalong Live

Well, I managed to get through tonight's Ghost Story Readalong video on Facebook Live without sneezing. Who knows what next week will bring?

Mr Harrigan’s Phone

As me and my little brother are both still ill, we couldn't get together for our regular Myst replay. We decided to have a remote film night instead (party like it's 2020!). We watched Mr Harrigan's Phone and I had some Joe and Seph's Strawberry Cheesecake popcorn. If It Bleeds was the first Stephen King book my brother read (he randomly borrowed it from me one night last year), so it was nice to watch the adaptation of 'Mr Harrigan's Phone' together.