A Spookily Good Offer
In my last blog I wrote about the old custom of hazel nut burning to determine if you were marrying a wrong’un, but there are many other customs at this time of year. How about kale pulling? In the old days kale was often thought of as animal feed , but now with its lustrous dark leaves it’s regarded as a super food and many a doctor will tell you to eat as much of it as you can get down you. Mind you black pudding has also been declared a super food, but not by lots in the medical profession. White pudding as we all know is delicious but a long step on a slippery slope.
But back to kale when in the not so dim past folk would use it to predict how their romantic life was going to fare. In Robert Burn’s poem Halloween the lads and lassies tried their luck with kail, AKA kale.
Then, first an' foremost, thro' the kail, Their stocks maun a' be sought ance; They steek their een, and
grape an' wale For muckle anes, an' straught anes. Poor hav'rel Will fell aff the drift,
An' wandered thro' the bow-kail, An' pou't for want o' better shift A runt was like a sow-tail
Sae bow't that night. (Robert Burns Halloween 1785)
Kale pulling was when young men and women would pull stalks from the ground after dark with their eyes closed or even blindfolded. Then the length, shape of the kale stalk and how much soil was left determined your romantic future, social status and likely income according to the custom. Though I suspect these days most young folk would swipe left at such a practice. If your kale was cleanly pulled, lean days were ahead, but if your stalk was still covered in muck then more prosperous times beckoned.
And when you look through the James Pirie offerings you can see the great value that a fine history of gift selling brings, with this stunning half price and affordable offer of the great looking Flower of Scotland Beer Tankard. It has that classy thistle design, it is in a gift box from Royal Scot Crystal and is all at half price too. Free delivery is standard and you can go the whole hog and get free gift wrapping too, just tick the box at check out.
https://www.jamespirie.com/gift-boxed-flower-of-scotland-tankard.html
