THINGS TO NOTE AND NOTICE

Nature Project Twig stars for winter decoration

It always feels a little sad and bare once the decs come down. Here’s a sweet decoration from nature that’ll fill a bare space on the wall or pretty up a tree in the garden.

You’ll need five twigs of about the same length and something to fasten them with (small rubber bands, twine or garden wire). Take your first two twigs and fasten them together at one end into an upside down ‘V’ with a 30 degree(ish) angle at the top. Fasten the third twig at the righthand end of the upside-down V, going diagonally left and up across the first twig at a 30 degree angle. Fasten the fourth twig going straight across from the top of the third twig, left to right, then fasten the fifth twig at the end of twig four going diagonally down and left and then fasten to the other end of twig one. You have your star. Now take the twine around each fastening again and tie it off. Tie more twine to the top and hang anywhere that looks a little bit bare and like it could do with some natural cheer.

Sunset hour Good ways to appreciate the end of the day

There’s no getting away from it; the days are short and the nights are long in January. The poet Emily Dickinson had plenty to say about winter afternoon light:

‘There’s a certain Slant of light, Winter Afternoons That oppresses, like the Heft Of Cathedral Tunes.’

We rather like a bit of winter light ourselves, but if, like Emily, you find the dark afternoons get you down, spend sunset hour determined to combat the winter blues.

Alone, or with a friend, spend the hour between 4 and 5pm creating a little oasis of January joy. Tea all round at four o’ clock, accompanied by something joyful and frivolous to eat: a big Belgian bun with an improbably-hued cherry on top, a hefty slab of Red Velvet cake, or even a salad of sliced oranges, pomegranates and pears to bring bright jewel colours and cheer.

Pop on some joyful music or pick up a funny book and revel in an hour of colour, silliness and fun. By the time the sun has set, you’ll be feeling ready to illuminate the dark all by yourself. The sun sets at 4.02pm on the first of the month and at 4.48pm on the 31st.

Birdwatch

Beautiful bullfinches are easy to spot in bare January trees Look for: White rumps, black wing markings and pinky-red breasts and cheeks – like they’re blushing (the males are the brighter ones; the females a little more of a grey-pink). Spot them in: UK gardens, hedgerows and woodlands. Listen for: A call that’s a sort of low-pitched whistling ‘peu’ sound.

FOLKLORE: Mari Lwyd wassailing in Glamorgan

Wassailing with Mari Lwyd on 13 January sounds like a thoroughly pleasant evening out… until you hear that Mari is actually a horse’s skull with bottle glass eyes and snapping jaws, attached to a long stick and draped with a sheet. It’s part of an ancient Welsh tradition when the ‘horse’ was taken from pub to pub, snapping at landlords and earning drinks and cakes for its band of followers. We’ll stick with the traditional handing over of money for our comestibles, thanks.