It’s one of those misunderstood sayings –n’er cast a clout til may is out. It’s that old chestnut of a proverb that reminds us about our fickle British weather. And this month’s rag bag of rain, hail and sunshine so far is pretty consistent with that. Yesterday it was flipflops, today it’s boots and thick socks. Tomorrow? Who knows?
But May is very misunderstood. Some people interpret the May bit as when the beautiful hawthorn tree is in flower. But others claim the saying refers 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 very much enjoyed. We’ve had some fantastic, close matches but everyone kept their kit on…..as far as we know…..
I think I should mention here that May is named after Maia, the Roman goddess of fertility. So be careful what you wish for……I’ll just park that thought there……
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 raise money for Cancer Research UK. We raised £2600 for CRUK but we probably spent more than that cranking up the heating.
However, there are no words to describe how cold I felt when I did my ice bucket challenge for CRUK a couple of years ago. We were still in the hideous days of lockdown so I decided to try something at home. Soon, I had talked myself into sitting in a bath full of ice in my garden to raise money for CRUK. 
Dear reader, I spent more than half an hour as my nearest and dearest cheerfully poured on more and more buckets of ice, happily supplied by our local pub, as more and more donations poured in. I yelped, screamed and swore quite a bit but it was worth it. Did I discover any health giving benefits? None that I noticed other than a few missing toes….only kidding but it felt like that for a while.
I have now completed the ride London cycling 100 miles in just eight hours, from London to Essex including a mega climb up notorious 400 feet Box Hill more info next month.
And still on the subject of casting a clout, here in (sometimes but not lately) sunny Devon some plucky people are getting ready for our annual clout-free programme of summer events. The naked River Exe cruise 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 so you don’t have to agonise about what to wear. And if you’re a cyclist, there’s a naked cycle ride through Exeter. I think I may well be watching television that day.
Hope your May has been fun. Meanwhile flaming June is only just around the corner.
Have fun and keep skittlin’
