The Day of Carp

The early-morning watchers of the video loop of the Solstice Sunrise this morning are complaining.

Their first complaint I can understand. Hnaef had manifestly pointed the webcam southwest instead of north-east. And so the recording has fifteen minutes of light gradually increasingly, with Hnaef's shadow suddenly stretching out into the distance, and then a whirl through 180 degrees to reveal the sun, already clearly over the horizon. With Crawley Crossing wreathed in light mist, and the sunshine reflecting off the Amazon warehouse, it must have been a marvellous sight.

But the real moan is about me playing the Kirsty MacColl song, "Last Day of Summer", over the tape. Why, I am being asked, am I playing a piece of misery about the end of summer, when it's only just beginning?

Well, I say. It's a reminder to gather rosebuds while we may. You may be thinking there's loads of summer, the days are long, the fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high. But think on. It's all downhill from now on. The days will become shorter, even as the temperatures rise. If you're gathering rosebuds, grab them with two hands. But, obviously, wear gloves. They have nasty thorns.

The Romans had the idea of " Carpe Diem" - the Day of Carp, when the world dissolves in goldfish. Try and get out there, grab those rosebuds, before the Great Carp gets them.Happy Solstice.