Rain rain go away

Rain all day, the most we have seen since the long January deluge. It reminds me of a wicked little rhyme we used to chant when I was a kid:

Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Rain, rain, go away
Come back on mother's washing day!

Back then we had no idea how ancient a chant it was, with its origins back in the 17th century. The earliest known version was noted by John Aubrey in 1687, which he observed was used by "little children" to "charme away the raine..." The words he heard were:

Rain raine goe away,
Come again a Saturday.

Hopefully not, though, as I'll be at a car meet in Yorkshire, hoping for fine weather. Not even the birds seemed keen on being out today, with the food left untouched on our Kentish oast bird table. It did look good, though, with its slatted roof glistening in the rain.