The Lions of Mothering Sunday

... yes, I was wondering, too! This is the illustration for the Mothering Sunday page in Stories of Special Days and Customs, published by Ladybird in 1972. Mothering Sunday seems to have changed a lot since then. The male lion on the right looks a tad grumpy: possibly he wants a green harness, too!

The explanation is that the pagans used to honour Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods, and the tradition of honouring mothers carried on in the UK into the Christian era. The US Mother's Day is a completely different celebration, apparently. Maybe it does not involve lion taming.

I bought this book from another trader in the market, towards the close of day. He bought a card from me. The stallholder next to me was attempting to jive with Norm, who sells (and plays) 1950s music. Could this be why I like the Shambles indoor market? I just about break even, but have a lot of fun in the process, and spread the word about my cards.

Now it's snowing again. I've just returned from the Stroud Community TV awards ceremony. It was an entertaining evening, with a high standard of short films entered across several categories.
Steve was the technical guy, and he's just come home vastly relieved that it's all over, and he can go back to doing a few other things.

Tomorrow will not be Mothering Sunday (that was last week) but it will definitely be a day of rest.