AS ONE of the summer months August should be warm and dry and sunny, or so one would think, any many mothers of school age children must pray each year that the weather is kind so that their little darlings can play outside without having to resort to that familiar summer holiday wail of Mum, I'm bored!

As we have already seen this month, August does not always live up to the balmy image of it that we tend to harbour in memories of our childhood.

The vagaries not only of our own summers but also those of our neighbours have led to a number of sayings about the results of August weather and what they might mean for the coming seasons.

It should come as no surprise that a good number of these sayings and proverbs refer to the harvest of crops and fruits gathered at this time of year.

"Dry August and warm doth the harvest no harm" speaks for itself across the channel our European cousins have good things to say about August whether it's fine or wet with "August sunshine and bright nights ripen the grapes" or "August rain gives honey wine and saffron" from Portugal or from France" when it rains in August it rains honey and wine".

The Italian also feel August rain is not a problem reminding themselves that "A wet August never brings dearth".

The notion that a good August ripens the fruits to be picked in the Autumn is also noted with sayings like "August ripens September gathers in: and August bears the burden (ie. The weight of the fruit on the branches) September bears the fruit.

The country folk of past time also used the August weather to forecast the coming seasons. In America it is said in Northern States that the date of the first heavy fog in August will also be the date of the first hard frost in October. In Britain to fogs in August were often said to foretell a severe winter with lots of snow.

Saints days in August were also used to forecast. With St Lawrences day (10th) being fine a fairer Autumn and good wine may be hoped for. And St Margarets flood (very wet on the 13th) being considered very good for the harvest. And good old St Mary (15th) was also said to foretell good wine if the day be fine.

Finally this week a saying that we should perhaps pay a little heed to bearing in mind the very hot weather in the first week of this month.

"If the first week in August be exceptionally warm the following winter will be white and long".

You have been warned!!

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.