The crown-wearer's charm from our Three Kings cake
Glorious sunny day at the allotment yesterday where Scarlett, Sarah and I (it was Howard's birthday and he was in Yorkshire) met to stir Three Kings Preparation, it being January 6. Now, if you are one of those organic or other gardeners whose blood rises at the thought of rituals and other non-rationalist thinking, please look away now (though you might like to know our green manure is slowly gaining ground and there are a couple more field beans surviving the scratchy digging, by mice or pigeons, who knows?)
Our green manure mix is striving and thriving
Anyway, a moment or two on Three Kings prep: this is a mix of gold (aurum metallicum), frankincense and myrhh ground and mixed together in a paste (preferably during the hour either side of midnight on New Year's Eve, and yes, it is possible to do it with a glass of champagne sometimes in one hand). This is then stirred into rain- or pondwater on January 6 and sprayed around the boundaries of the plot/site as 'an offering to the elemental world'.
Epiphany (Three Kings Day) is perhaps more important in other cultures, not least the Hispanic and Eastern churches, but one of our favourite traditions is the French Galette Du Roy, where a delicious frangipani tart with a hidden charm is eaten (the charm-finder gets to wear a golden crown). The Spanish and Germans also have their own recipes. Anway, we all had a slice and a democratic crown each, with each stirrer taking it in turns to wear the gold one.
Our enchanted day draws to an end
Now, admittedly, the water was not as warm as we might have liked (we had to take ice off the pond), but we gamely stirred, shared our cake with the other growers (it was particularly good to see our 'old' neighbour Mary back on her plot after her bereavement), and as the sun set we sprayed the boundaries of the plot and the site and went home, still crowned, shaken and stirred.
More practical gardening next week, but how was your weekend?
