It was a dark dank November day, the rain fell in sheets and this time it blew in from the east, which meant in was going to be cold, an east wind blowing from Northern Europe is always cold and often brings sleet storms and snow, and brings to mind the old saying “When the wind is in the east, ’tis neither good for man nor beast.

I fear our westerly winds bringing warm air in from the Atlantic had bid farewell and given in to the winter easterly winds.

So I got to think about all the other old saying that had an element of truth in them.

Let’s take “Sky red in the morning, is a shepherd warning; Sky red at night, is the shepherd’s delight.” so is it true?  Well this saying go’s back a long long time in fact one of the earliest accounts date from as early as 1395.

As most of the weather in the UK comes in from the west so if we see the sky red or pink it means the light spectrum is bouncing on clouds coming our way “Shepherds Warning”.

Conversely red sky at night the clouds will be in the east and have already passed us by, giving a good chance of clear skies and fine weather, shepherds delight.

As I am writing this article on the first of November another saying came to mind, Pinch Punch the first of the month.

In old England people thought that witches existed and that salt could make them weak, so a “pinch” was a pinch of salt that you could throw onto the witches, and of course as soon as the witches were weak people could punch them away.

And finally before I get too boring remember.

If cows lie down and refuse to go to pasture, you can expect a storm to blow up soon.

A pig gathering leaves and straw means a storm is coming

See a dog eating grass expect rain

Dandelion blossoms close before a storm

And if towards the end of autumn the leaves are still on the trees then prepare for a cold winter

I will leave you to wonder if there is any truth in these.