Don’t cast a clout….
It’s one of those misunderstood sayings –n’er cast a clout til may is out. It’s one of those proverbs that reminds us about our fickle British weather.
But it’s very misunderstood. Some people interpret the May bit as when the beautiful hawthorn tree is in flower. But either way it’s referring to the end of the month, even though the hawthorns are already out and spectacular this year.
However, there’s no mistaking the meaning of clout. It’s nothing to do with lamping anyone. It’s an old word for clothing. So this lovely old saying means, don’t get yer kit off until the end of the month. It definitely isn’t about postponing some kind of punch up before June. But you’re definitely allowed to have a bit of a battle when you have a game of skittles on the alleys, as our teams this month have much enjoyed. We’ve had some fantastic close matches but everyone kept their kit on…..as far as we know.
Just mentioning here that May is named after Maia, the Roman goddess of fertility. I’ll just park that thought there……
Getting back to casting a clout, when naked calendars were all the rage, we did our own version here at Serious About Events a few years back, having a naked office day to money for Cancer Research UK. We raised about £3,500 but we did have to crank the heating up. 
But there are no words to describe how cold I felt when I did my ice bucket challenge for CRUK a couple of years ago. Spent more than half an hour as my nearest and dearest cheerfully poured on more and more buckets of ice, kindly supplied by our local pub, as more and more donations poured in.
Here in (often) sunny Devon some people are getting ready for clout-free summer events. The naked River Exe cruise always makes news headlines when it takes place once again in July and the River Exe Restaurant has jumped on the bare band wagon by hosting a naked dinner night too. At least there’s no dress code and you don’t have to agonise about what to wear.
Well, this May has been the bonanza month of bank holidays. We’re just approaching our third Monday off. I think this could become a national habit. Hope your May has been fun and that you’ve kept your kit on. Meanwhile flaming June is only just around the corner.
Have fun and keep skittlin’
