England's Calendar of Events | February
Nesting & Girlsta Up Helly Aa
February 6, 2009
South Nesting
The Up Helly Aa is a fire festival involving a torchlit procession, the burning of a Viking longship and a ceilidh which lasts late into the night. The festival heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
The burning of the Viking galley commemorates the way a Viking warrior was cremated: by being pushed out into the sea in his trusty longship to drift to Valhalla.
The event begins in the early evening with a torchlit fancy-dress procession. At the head of the assembled group strides a lone Viking warrior. Known as the jarl, across his chest he wears a bronze breastplate or chain mail and in his hands he carries a sword or a double-sided axe and a shield. Sometimes you might catch him wearing a skin-cloak and he always covers his head with a helmet decorated with crows feathers or a pair of horns.
The procession sets off from South Nesting Hall and then goes down past the school to the shoreline. There they burn the galley on the seashore. Once the great fire has died down, everyone troops back up to either the North Nesting Hall or the South Nesting Hall where square dancing, reeling and assorted entertainments take place.
It is customary for people to get together and form "guizers" or special squads who all wear the same fancy dress and present a show - a song, a ditty, a dance or a sketch - in each of the halls. Square dancing and reeling follows until the early hours.
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Hurling the Silver Ball
February 9, 2009
St. Ives
The hurling of the silver ball, in St Ives, is a very old custom indeed. So old in fact, that nobody quite knows how and when it originated. It is held on Feast Monday every February.
At 10.30am on Feast Monday the silver ball is thrown from the wall of the Parish Church by the Mayor. Once the ball is caught by a member of the crowd below, it is passed from one to another on the beaches and streets of the town. Whoever is in possession of the ball when the clock strikes noon takes it to the Mayor at the Guildhall and receives the traditional reward of five shillings.
St Ives was converted to Christianity by St Ia (the name has now been Anglicised to St Ives), one of the many Irish Christian missionaries to come to Britain in the 5th century. It is her feast that is celebrated on the Sunday and Monday during the Octave of Candlemas.
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St Valentine's Day in London
February 14, 2009
London
London has always been a second-stringer as far as 'romantic cities' go - Paris, Prague, anywhere but London it seems - but times are changing. Given London's regeneration over the last few years, there's absolutely no reason why lovers cannot have a rather cosy time in this city of intimate restaurants, world-class hotels and elegant parks.
So bearing this in mind, here are a few suggestions for romancing in London.
Perhaps you could start with a stroll through Kensington Gardens in the heart of Hyde Park. There is an arbour there where you can sit in loved-up silence watching the swans glide by on the Serpentine river. Other wonderful parks include Primrose Hill near Camden Town which has one of the best views over London, or a stroll up to the Greenwich Observatory which you can reach by catamaran cruiser from Embankment Pier.
If you are want a high-dining experience at lunchtime, then visit the Oxo Tower on London's South Bank, or the Hilton's Window on the World restaurant (Holland Park). If you're feeling especially swanky you could even try out the Savoy's river restaurant.
By late afternoon with dusk closing in, it's probably time for Tea at the Ritz. Book well in advance because you won't be the only person with such a Valentine date in mind and the advance expenditure of effort will be well worth it.
Should you fail to get a reservation here, then Fortnum & Mason might oblige, purveyors of extremely fine foods since the reign of George III in the 18th century. Their Fountain Restaurant, also located on Piccadilly, does a delicious Welsh Rarebit (sophisticated cheese on toast). If neither of these appeal, try the Savoy tea dance or similar events at Brown's or the Waldorf Hotel.
Which brings us to supper. (Why does romance always revolve around eating?) London can boast restaurants from every corner of the world. Whether it's because the British Empire caused so many of the world's disparate peoples to try their luck in London, or because they felt so sorry for the derisory state of the British cuisine they simply had to open restaurants no-one is quite sure. Whatever the reason, you really can hop around the world through your palate in London with Korean, Vietnamese, Italian, French, Hungarian, Japanese, Malaysian, Thai and Chinese restaurants to try (and that's just in Soho). A nice touch might be a gourmet dining experience combined with a cruise down the Thames.
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