COUNTRY folk have long been revered as highly capable forecasters of our weather. I can recall some villagers from the North York Moors hanging seaweed under the eaves of their garden shed where it was used to forecast rain – if the seaweed was damp and slimy, it heralded rain, but if it was hard and dry, then fine weather could be expected.

There were dozens of sayings relating to rain. They included “Rain before seven, fine before eleven”; “Rain before mass on Sundays, rain all the following week”; “Rain from the east, rain for two days at least”; “Rain, rain pouring, sets the bulls a-roaring”; “Cattle sheltering under trees heralds rain”; “If rain begins around 5pm, it will rain all night”; and “Five days rain, ten days wind”.

There were particular verses for times, days and seasons, with others catering especially for the sun, moon or stars, the wind, clouds, snow, fog, dew, rainbows, the sea and the tides, frost, hail, thunder and lightning but not forgetting our wildlife such as trees and flowers, or creatures such as birds, animals, frogs, insects and even special beliefs associated with saints’ days, telescopes, thermometers and barometers.

Based upon long years of experience and observation, most country folk could produce a fairly accurate forecast based on such things as how the insects flew over the water, the appearance of the moon, the behaviour of the planets, birds, flowers and clouds. The appearance of comets, for example, was said to herald good crops in European countries but among the Apache Indians, comets forecast drought, famine, war, floods and other disasters.

In many countries, the appearance of one or more comets was generally felt to herald a parched and barren year while meteors meant we could expect thunder.

Observation of the wind was another common mode of weather forecasting. A wellknown saying attributed to the poet, Sir Francis Bacon, told us that “Every wind has its weather”. There is a lovely old tale about two eminent gentlemen walking on the moors as a strong, keen and rather cold wind suddenly blew up. They encountered a shepherd and complained to him about the wind whereupon he replied: “Well, it dries the ground, it refreshes the ewes and it is the will of God.”

It is evident from the huge volume of sayings that relate to the wind that it played a prominent role in rural weather forecasting in days gone by. There are too many to repeat in the available space, but here are a few: “Wind roaring in the chimney, rain to come”; “No weather is ill if the wind be still”; “The smaller and lighter winds generally rise in the morning and fall at sunset”; “Sudden gusts never come in a clear sky, but only when it is cloudy with rain”; “Much wind means much rain”; and “A brisk wind generally precedes rain; an easterly wind is usually unkind”.

Another powerful guide to the weather in past times came from clouds, with ancient folk believing their presence was a sign of the gods because they were so close to heaven. In time, it was recognised that clouds differ widely in their appearance and colour, and so they were given names such as Mackerel Sky, Mares’ Tails and Wool Bags. The difference in their appearance was also thought to be a key to the forthcoming weather.

As our civilisations grew more sophisticated and educated, so studies of the weather became more learned and in August 1894, the International Meteorological Committee held a conference at Upsala at which the heights and general appearance of clouds was discussed and formalised.

It was at that conference that clouds were given names and so we had, from the highest to the lowest, Cirrus (known as Mares’ Tails), Cirro-Stratus, Cirro- Cumulus, Alto-Cumulus, Alto-Stratus, Strato-Cumulus, Cumulus, Cumulo Nimbus, Nimbus, and nearest the ground, the Stratus.

Like all other forms of weather, clouds have produced their own weather lore, such as: “When clouds are seen, wise men put on their cloaks”; “After black clouds, clear weather”; “If there were no clouds we could not enjoy the sun”; “One little cloud may hide all of the sun”; and “When clouds appear like rocks and towers, earth is refreshed by frequent showers”.

Now, we pay little heed to those former methods of forecasting the weather. Instead, we rely on satellites, newspapers, television and computers which produce surprisingly accurate forecasts.

My wife and I use an iPad upon which we can read newspapers, telephone relations anywhere in the world and watch them as they talk to us and use it for almost any other research project or calculation. In addition, it will provide us with an accurate weather forecast hour by hour in our village or at locations to which we are heading.

No longer do I need to check my seaweed, although a recent TV forecast showed a red sky with a caption: “Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight”.

Those old sayings are now part of the computer age.

A COUPLE of weeks ago we revisited Middleham where the castle, although closed at the time, continues to dominate the village from its hilltop site. Dating from Norman times, it has housed many eminent people including the Nevilles, Warwick the King-Maker, and the youth who became King Richard III. The discovery of King Richard’s remains beneath a car park in Leicester has ignited a fierce interest in this monarch and it is increasingly believed that his evil reputation was untrue, being generated by the Tudors as a means of denigrating the reputation of this young man, one of the last Catholic kings of England.

That belief is fostered in the local church of St Mary and St Alkelda which is tucked away behind the market place on its peaceful site.

The fate of Richard III was in evidence thanks to the local congregation who have mounted an interesting exhibition of his links with Middleham and its Pre-Reformation church. When Richard was Duke of York, it was constituted collegiate by him in 1477, and one of the last canons in that college was the author, Charles Kingsley, perhaps best known for his book, The Water Babies. The college was dissolved in 1856.

The west wall of the south aisle contains a window in memory of Richard III. It was a gift from his brother, Edward IV, after the death of Warwick the King-Maker and was set in this location in 1934 by those who believed the King’s reputation was not as evil as history would have us believe.

There are many reasons why the remains of King Richard III should be reburied in Yorkshire.