Oíche Fhéile Bríde, the eve of the Feast of Bride in Ireland was celebrated by bands of children carrying a Bride doll from home to home. Women brought out cake and ale and invited neighbours in for a ceilí, to welcome Brigit. Milk products – butter, cheese and milk, were always served. The Saint herself was said to be abroad that night with her sacred white cow, blessing farmsteads and homes. People left out a piece of cloth, representing the brat Bríde, a piece of her sacred mantle, for the saint to bless as she passed by, which would be used to heal people and animals, especially in giving birth, the coming year. An offering of food for the saint and her cow was left in exchange.

Lewis-Stempel, John (12 October 2014). "The Kaiser's jihad". Daily Express . Retrieved 30 April 2016. From 1927 to 1935 Buchan was Conservative M.P. for the Scottish Universities, and in 1935, on his appointment as Governor-General to Canada, he was made a peer, taking the title Baron Tweedsmuir. During these years he was still productive as a writer, and published notable historical biographies, such as Montrose, Sir Walter Scott, and Cromwell.Beannachadh Smalaidh, Smalaidh mis an tula, Mar a smaladh Muire; Comraig Bhride ‘s Mhuire. Smooring Blessing

My copy of Greenmantle, now tattered, its spine weak from years of rereading, and its faded red cloth cover falling apart at the hinges, still has the book plate of my school library. I borrowed the book and loved it so much, I never returned it. More than fifty years later, I still cherish it too much to part with. I shall not be slain, I shall not be wounded, I shall not be put in cell, I shall not be gashed, I shall not be torn in sunder, I shall not be despoiled, I shall not be down-trodden, I shall not be made naked, I shall not be rent, Nor will Christ, Leave me forgotten On the long road to Erzerum, they crash their car, and spend the night in a barn, where Hannay has a vivid dream of a hill with a saucepan-like indent in the top, Hannay notes that it is similar to a Kraal. They travel on worn-out horses, but seeing a new car by the roadside, they steal it, only to find it belongs to Rasta Bey. They make good speed, but on arrival in Erzerum, they are delivered straight to Stumm, who recognises Hannay and has them arrested. They are rescued by one of Sandy's men, steal some plans from Stumm, and escape across the rooftops.

For modern thriller audiences there is plenty of more sophisticated fare available – Forsyth, Clancy, Ludlum. But there is a freshness, an originality, and a magic in Greenmantle that no modern writer quite has. An Irish blessing: Faoi bhrat Bhríde sinn. May you be under Bride’s mantle. Ireland itself is sometimes described as the ‘green mantle of Brigit’, and the colour green is also associated with the faeries, which links her to her original status as a Goddess among the Tuatha de Danaan. An Irish prayer to Bride: The story is James-Bond-y. It is action filled and there are multiple mysteries to be solved. Even I could make sense of the events. Even I understood how the mysteries came to be resolved. That it is set during the First World War did somewhat intrigue me. The British feared that the Germans would incite the Islamic people in the Middle East to rise up in a jihad, upsetting British control in India. The son of senior intelligence officer, Sir Walter Bullivant, dies having left clues, mysterious words on a scrap of paper. The words on the paper were Kasredin, cancer and v.I. What do the words signify? When the son died, he had been investigating just such an uprising. These festivals are celebrated by most Pagan traditions in Britain although some, such as Druids, may use different names for them, and Heathens (followers of ancient Nordic or Saxon religions) have a different set of festivals. The first issue of The New Phytologist was published in January 1902 replacing the ‘British Botanical Journal’. To read the editorial by Tansley and papers in the first issue go to January 1902 issue.