And that’ll be this Sunday, if I’m not mistaken - 22nd September - equal day; equal night, with night muscling relentlessly in to take the King’s share of the light time.
Okay, here’s a potted equinoxal explanation: “An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20th March and 22nd September), when the plane of the Earth’s equator passes the centre of the Sun. At this time the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name ‘equinox’ is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, night and day are about equal length.”
Oh right, I’m glad that’s all cleared up. I wonder if there’s a Latin term for feeling exceedingly ‘brassed off’ at having to move the clocks back to GMT (and cutting off daylight at around three-thirty every afternoon?) Hmmm, I guess there probably is. In the meantime how about ‘Ego sum Sententia magico depressus?’ And I can report that this Magico will be extremely depressus come the end of October...
But, you know it’s not all glum; it’s about getting a sane prospective on it all. Old Don, an ex-miner of some seventy-nine summers, will still arise at four each morning, don his trusty cap ’n boots and take a five mile yomp (with a bit of jogging included) around the countryside environs, accompanied by wuff his little dog. He calls it, ‘beating the bounds...’ which I gather is an old expression from Medieval times whereby youths were shown the boundary of their permitted travel from the village.
Anyhow, I asked Don how he manages when the autumn and winter bring such dark mornings. “I’ve bin doing this fer so long,” he grinned, “I knows each and every step.” He chuckled loudly, “Plus now I’ve gort this...” He reached into his backpack and pulled out a baseball cap. “I gort it from Aldi’s... and look!” He put it on his head, pressed a concealed switch and four powerful LED lights shone out from the peak. “O’course,” he explained with a chortle, “ya carn’t wear it back’ds like the youngens do cos you’d never get the benefit!”
Well folks, thanks to good old Don that’s me psyched-up to beat the forthcoming autumn blue-ness. I’m now going walking in the dark with a brighter-than-bright Aldi baseball cap. If you’ll excuse me I’ll get off right now down to my local store and purchase said item. I can give a field report next week, if you like...
Any one for a Xmas meet ?
Toodle pip Magic
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