St Swithins Day

According to English folklore, if it rains on St Swithin's Day - July 15 - it is said that 40 days of rain will follow.

An ancient rhyme sums up the legend:

'St Swithin’s Day, if it does rain
Full forty days, it will remain
St Swithin’s Day, if it be fair
For forty days, t'will rain no mair.'

St. Swithin (sometimes spelt Swithun) was a Saxon Bishop of Winchester and legend has it that as he lay on his deathbed, he asked to be buried out of doors, at one with nature, where the rain could fall on his grave.

For nine years, his wishes were followed, but then, on 15 July 971, the monks of Winchester attempted to remove his remains to a splendid shrine inside the cathedral. There was a heavy rain storm during the ceremony, which was taken to be a sign of St Swithin’s protest at the move.

However, Met office records over the years show that rain on St Swithin's Day has not always been followed by 40 continuous days of bad weather.

Unfortunately, sunshine on St Swithin's Day gives no guarantee of fine weather for 40days. This year 15 July was fine in most parts of England, but there has been rain since then.

Last space shuttle launch

Atlantis took off from Cape Canaveral, for NASA's last space shuttle launch.
A last-minute hitch held up the launch for a couple of minutes.
NASA announced the official launch time as 11:29:04 EDT.

Summer Solstice

In the Northern Hemisphere, the summer solstice is on June 21.

The term solstice is derived from the Latin words for "sun" and "to stand still."

As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher until it seems to stand still in the sky. The summer solstice marks the longest day and shortest night of the year.

Civilizations have celebrated the summer solstice for thousands of years, and today it is still celebrated annually in England at Stonehenge and Avebury, where crowds gather to welcome the sunrise.

Total lunar eclipse

Total Lunar Eclipse 15 June 2011

This takes place at times in the moon's orbit when it is completely hidden by the earth’s shadow, as cast by the sun.

On this occasion the moon is passing through the densest, central part of the shadow, which has the effect of making the eclipse appear darker.

The moon still remains visible, but less bright, and can take on a copper or red hue due to sunlight scattered on its surface through the earth's atmosphere.

The times when the lunar eclipse can be observed vary according to location.

In the UK it may be seen around 915pm - 10pm.

More details here: http://bit.ly/mru0Wj

National Family Week

National Family Week runs until 5 June.

For more information visit www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk

Hottest Easter for over a century

Britain has experienced the hottest Easter for over 100 years, with temperatures reaching 27 degrees C (81F) on Good Friday.

This beats the previous record of 74F in London in 1984, and is the hottest Easter since records began in the early 1900s.

Temperatures are expected to remain above average for the time of year for the rest of the month.

Earth Day

Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green®

Earth Day is marked today by campaigns to make the world a greener place.

These include the Canopy Project: Earth Day Network aims to plant a million trees in partnership with non‐profit organizations throughout the world. Locations where reforestation is urgently needed include Haiti, Brazil, Mexico and urban areas of the US.

For more details see www.earthday.org/earth-day-2011