February 21 -- Feast of Saint Robert Southwell "A poet, a lover and a liar are by many reckoned but three words with one signification." Saint Robert Southwell That was the cynical admonition of the poet Robert Southwell, addressed to his cousin, W.S., believed by some to have been William Shakespeare. The two were contemporaries who indisputably read each other's works. Shakespeare, a humanist with no apparent religious zeal, admired Southwell's poetry, but Southwell, a Jesuit priest, seems to have had reservations about literature that…

2/21: Saint Robert Southwell (1561-1595) and Blessed Thomas Pormort (1560-1592) Martyrs at Tyburn, England - "The men like Topcliffe might tempt us to hope that Hell exists, but we would do well to remember that our notions of justice are imperfect, and in wishing that, we deliver ourselves to the Devil."

February 8, 1817 --- The Northern Lights appeared.

via

Prisoners
of war in France from 1804 to 1814, being the adventures of John
Tregerthen Short and Thomas Williams of St. Ives, Cornwall

Là Fhèill Brìghde is the day the Cailleach gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter. Legend has it that if she intends to make the winter last a good while longer, she will make sure the weather on February 1 is bright and sunny, so she can gather plenty of firewood to keep herself warm in the coming months.

As a result, people are generally relieved if February 1 is a day of foul weather, as it means the Cailleach is asleep, will soon run out of firewood, and therefore winter is almost over.

G&T on the patio! Celebrating the snow and seeing February out in style...