Over the hump - farewell long dark nights!

CtrlSource

Now Winter Nights Enlarge [no more]

"Now winter nights enlarge
The number of their hours,
And clouds their storms discharge
Upon the airy towers.
Let now the chimneys blaze,
And cups o’erflow with wine;
Let well-tuned words amaze
With harmony divine.
Now yellow waxen lights
Shall wait on honey love,
While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights
Sleep’s leaden spells remove.

This time doth well dispense
With lovers’ long discourse;
Much speech hath some defence,
Though beauty no remorse.
All do not all things well;
Some measures comely tread,
Some knotted riddles tell,
Some poems smoothly read.
The summer hath his joys
And winter his delights;
Though love and all his pleasures are but toys,
They shorten tedious nights."

by Thomas Campion


So, we have past midwinter day and those long tedious nights have begun to shorten. In a couple of weeks the cock's step will become noticeable and before we know it, we'll all be going home from school/college/work in daylight again!

i'm sure that i'm not alone in celebrating the time when winter begins to shrink once more...

the drifter

baaa the coming of the light...we creatures of the night do not recieve joy from the soming of the long days...

SpookyDoll

Yep all hail the almighty Solstice!!!!!!!!!!

Every day gettin lighter from now on, I count the days to this day!!!

_blank_

CtrlSource wrote: »

i'm sure that i'm not alone in celebrating the time when winter begins to shrink once more...

No you aren't, in fact they even gave it a name.

The Winter Solstice.

Some dudes even built a huge stone artefact to it, somewhere in meath.

Agamemnon

Yay, soon we'll be able to say "There's a grand stretch in the evenings" once more.

CtrlSource

Des wrote: »

No you aren't, in fact they even gave it a name.

The Winter Solstice.

Some dudes even built a huge stone artefact to it, somewhere in meath.

Fnarr!

SpookyDoll

Agamemnon wrote: »

Yay, soon we'll be able to say "There's a grand stretch in the evenings" once more.

AND be able to see whats in the glove box......oh joy!

Earthhorse

Seeing as it's the Season.

The Burning Babe by Robert Southwell

As I in hoary winter's night stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty babe all burning bright did in the air appear;
Who, though scorched with excessive heat, such floods of tears did shed,
As though his floods should quench his flames, which with his tears were fed.
"Alas," quoth he, "but newly born, in fiery heats I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts, or feel my fire but I!
My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns,
Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorns;
The fuel justice layeth on, and mercy blows the coals,
The metal in this furnace wrought are men's defiled souls,
For which, as now on fire I am to work them to their good,
So will I melt into a bath to wash them in my blood."
With this he vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas Day.

Merry Christmas!

SpookyDoll

I in grumpy grumps lounged in me bed
While smelly Xmas jingles permeated me head
It will all be over soon I told meself
While setting fire to one of Santas elf (s)

Decorations swing from every rafter
Mental note to arsonate them after
If I could get a good pot-shot at Santy
I would blow a hole in his large red panty (s)

The sight of the tree and its twinkling fairy
Riles me up and makes me very lairy
I take an axe and decapitate her
Mental note to chop the tree down later

I plan and plot more Xmas destruction
I may even film it and call it a production
Santy bites it, all the elves are dead
Rudolph cops a shot in his furry head

etc

eddiehead

Agamemnon wrote: »

Yay, soon we'll be able to say "There's a grand stretch in the evenings" once more.

Yea, and farewell to.......
........"The auld evenings are ****ed"

CtrlSource

the drifter wrote: »

baaa the coming of the light...we creatures of the night do not recieve joy from the soming of the long days...

There there, it's okay, the darkness has returned! *pats the drifter and puts garlic clove necklace on*

peasant

As a matter of interest ...how many more minutes of daylight per day is it actually?

Anyone know? (too lazy to look it up)

mike65

Only a few mins right now

http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/waterford.html

CtrlSource

2 or 3 per day i think

crosstownk

Just one per day at the moment. It'll be late January before I see my house in daylight on a work day.........

Sunrise/Sunset Dublin

peasant

mike65 wrote: »

Only a few mins right now

http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/waterford.html

That's a great site, mike ...thanks!

Zebra3

Thank ****.

Winter is just crap since they switched the footie season a few years ago.

B@stards. :mad:

Nevyn

Very grateful that we are the far side of the winter solstice.

CtrlSource

crosstownk wrote: »

Just one per day at the moment. It'll be late January before I see my house in daylight on a work day.........

Sunrise/Sunset Dublin

That's cool. When the evenings start to lengthen, the sunrises get later, but not by as much as the sunsets. i'd forgotten about the slightly later sunrises tbh

CtrlSource

One month on and... *bump*

Great aul' stretch the last few evenings!