Week 25

COVER REVEAL! Plus: football, open windows, beer

Hello! And happy midsummer!

I am delighted to kick off this week with a cover reveal for The Almanac 2025! Yes I know, it feels ridiculous to even be mentioning it now, the day after actual midsummer’s day, but of course almanac making never really stops for your almanac elves behind the scenes, and it is time to show you what we have been up to. And here it is…

Every year we choose a different illustrator who will suit the theme, and I was delighted to find Sarah Abrehart, whose strong, epic, folky lino cuts suit 2025’s perfectly. Thanks to the book’s designer Matt Cox of Newman+ Eastwood for the above mock-up - yes it will have lots of shiny bits next year.

The Almanac 2025’s the theme is ‘ancient astronomy’. We will track the year in shadow and stone with a ‘Megalith of the Month’; tell constellation stories from around the world; and visit the seasonal changes in the ancient meadows that those megaliths stand on. There is also a cake of the month (yes you heard…), tide times, gardening, crafts, folksongs and moon phases and moon meditations, as ever. I hope you love it.

You can pre-order now if you fancy doing me a huge favour, ideally at your local bookshop, which signals to them that they should get some copies in and gives them a chance to peruse it…but also via the links you will find if you press the button below. All such actions really help me to keep this almanac show on the road, so thank you if you do.

And in six months’ time you will be getting ready to open it…

Before our usual business, here is a link to the midsummer film I made last year, just some chat about what it means, what makes it midsummer, and some of the traditions and feelings around it. Obviously the actual moment of the solstice was different this year - it was 21.50 on 20th June - but all the rest is good, if you fancy a catch up on what it is all about.

And now to our actual business. This is our weekly post in which we track the seasons in all their grandeur and minutiae so that we can reflect back at the end of the month. I choose one thing about my week that felt particularly ‘this week’ and then you tell me yours, in the comments.

Here’s mine:

Football, open windows, beer

For those not in the UK or Europe, a little context first: this week the Euros began, a big, big country-on-country football tournament (you might say soccer…) that England (and I suppose every country) is always utterly convinced they are bound to win. It’s ours for the taking. We really believe!

I am one of those people who real, year-round football supporters hate. I love international football, and I have absolutely no interest the rest of the time. I will not be ashamed! I think what I love about it is mostly all of the *stuff* around it. It always happens around midsummer, the windows are open, there’s a cold beer, there’s a feeling of festivity about it. Everyone gets involved and you can hear other people laughing and cheering/groaning across the gardens. And of course there’s the tension, which builds and builds over the weeks… ‘Could we *really* do it this time…?’ before…ok the inevitable heartbreak. That bit isn’t so good.

---

That’s it from me, apart from a bit of a favour (another one??). Every Sunday we hold a show-and-tell in the ‘chat’ part of the app, where we all post our seasonal pictures from the past week. This weekend I’m going to be away, and I would love it if one of you would start it. You ALL have the permission to start Lia’s Living Almanac chats, so whoever gets up first on Sunday morning kicks it off. How does that sound? I may well join in, but I like the idea of going away with no responsibilities.

But now: tell me what you have spotted/eaten/smelt/planted this week that felt particularly ‘this week’.