A Meal With Grace
Winter January 2009
A WINTER WEDDING.
Everyone knew we were heading for snow.
Lowering banks of menacing clouds trying
To threaten cold wedding guests told us so.
You and I cuddled close. I was crying.
After a night of passionate rapture
You would be gone. Yet these moments were ours
My body, heart, mind and soul you captured,
Snowbound, we then bound ourselves to love’s vows.
Your presence has stayed, “thou war took your life.
It shines in your son, and comforts your wife.”
- Dedicated to War Veterans, by Fay Slimm
EDEN PROJECT
Here you will find crops, landscapes and wild plants which reflect the amazing diversity of our planet. There’s also internationally famous architecture and art which draws inspiration from nature; and a stage on which people working to make our world a better place can tell their stories.
The Moon Cycle for January
First Quarter: Sunday 4 of January 11:55
Full Moon: Sunday 11 of January 03:37
Last Quarter: 18 of January 02:36
New Moon: 26 of January 07:55
The 1st of the Year in the Zodiac
Although we are use to our year beginning on January 1, it was only in the middle of the eighteenth century that it was decided that the year should begin then. Before then December 25 began the year, and after the Conquest of the Normans, March 25 became New Year’s Day. It was this way until 1752. The first sign of the zodiac, Aries, was placed at the beginning of the year from the spring equinox, March 21. The others were assigned accordingly as shown below. Each sign was given characteristics of its own.
The dates assigned to the signs of the zodiac are as follows, although different “astrologers” assign slightly different dates, the ones who use the constellations use significantly different dates. The table below gives the dates and the most usual variations of each sign. The approximate dates between which the sun appears in the constellation each year are shown. Neither the signs nor the constellations change places at exactly midnight sharp GMT on the dates given below, so at the beginning or end of each period you may see a variation of up to a day.
An individual born into the main portion of any of the periods below, can say with safety that they are a Gemini or a Leo, etc. But if your nativity took place on one of the borderline dates (know as a “cusp") you will need to know the exact time and latitude/longitude of the event to be certain which is your exact Sun sign (as it is called).
Source:Zodiac
The festivals of January
MENU
A JanuaryMeal
MULLED CIDER WITH ROASTED APPLES
by Fiona Beckett
My favourite Winter drink - popular with everyone. Use a good quality dry cider not a modern ‘white’ cider or draught cider which can be too strong
Makes 12-14 servings
Ingredients
1 litre premium English cider
250ml Somerset cider brandy or calvados
1.5 litres cloudy English apple juice
A thinly pared strip of lemon rind
2 sticks of cinnamon
8 cloves
For the roasted apples
10-12 small Cox’s apples
About 75g light muscovado sugar
100ml premium English cider
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Wash and core the apples and score them around their middles. Put them in a baking dish and stuff the centre of each with the sugar. (It’s easiest to do this with the handle of a spoon or fork). Splash over the cider and roast in the oven until soft and beginning to split (45-50 minutes).
Meanwhile put the cider, cider brandy or calvados, and apple juice in a large pan, together with the lemon zest, cinnamon and cloves. Heat through gently then leave over a very low heat until the apples are cooked without allowing the mixture to boil. When the apples are ready, tip them and their juices into the mulled cider. Taste, adding a little extra sugar if you think it needs it. Serve straight from the pan into heat resistant glasses or cups or transfer to a warmed bowl.
Source: BBC
