Category: Michaelmas
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Farewell to September
Michaelmas marks both the end of summer and the early days of autumn. (This year in Scotland the Autumn Equinox took place at exactly 1:05 BST on September 23..) The nights, as Mr McLean will inevitably say, are fair drawing in. We have eaten most of the apples on our early-bearing tree. However, all is…
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25 hours to go!
I have left work, and it is time to collect up all the crockery and wineglasses, to buy the last supplies, and to work out which shoes to wear tomorrow.. 25 hours to go! Everyone, now is the time to buy your tickets! If a bank transfer is beyond your ken, I will take cash.…
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Community Centred
A young relative spent the end of her summer holidays with her uncle and me in Scotland. Naturally we took her along with us to the Traditional Latin Mass and then to the Tea-and-Coffee-Hour in the parish rooms. I introduced her here and there, and she was amused and pleased to see the numerous infants…
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Our Fourth Annual Michaelmas Dance
There we have it! Mrs McLean’s Waltzing Party will be celebrating our Fourth Michaelmas Dance in September. In perhaps another six years, we can claim that it is not just traditional but a tradition. As I am now going to spend the next month trumpeting its delights abroad, I hope my knees improve to such…
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A Very Merry Michaelmas!
Happy Feast Day! It’s a beautiful day in Edinburgh, the sun having burned away the mist. There are crunchy yellow leaves huddled up in the corners of the streets, and there’s a bracing chill in the air. Yes, it’s certainly autumn, with all the coziness – “coorie” in Scotland – that implies to enjoy. “Coorie…
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Carrot cake for Michaelmas
The Michaelmas Dance 2025 is tomorrow night, so I’m taking a short moment before writing out a final shopping list to reflect on traditions old and new. Deeply sunk in the earth of my mind are carrots, for I always bake a large carrot cake for the ticketed dances. Four cups of grated carrots are…
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The Michaelmas Dance 2024
Michaelmas Eve was a sunny, dry day in Edinburgh, for which I am most grateful. I began it by washing wine glasses, and I ended it by stacking bags of the used-and-rewashed wine glasses under a table in the sitting room. Then I fell into bed. We were a company of 56, I believe: 47…