Laurie Wilson – Project 365

Well this is the end of the project…the last day.  It doesn’t seem like a year since the start of this exercise.  It seemed like a good idea in 40c and the endless sunshine of Freo.

It’s been fun and I’ve enjoyed it immensely.

From the website statistics there have been around 700 different people consistently following the project.  Some have commented on particular photos but I’d love to hear from the silent audience members.  Drop me an email (laurie at keblawben.com) or do post a comment.

I’ll write a proper conclusion in the next few days.

For the last photo I thought of doing a self-portrait but that would stressful (for everyone!) .

There’s been great feedback about some of the information that’s been added to particular pictures so here’s a bit about our New Year tradition of ‘first footing’.

First footing kit

In Scottish folklore, the first-foot, also known in Manx Gaelic as quaaltagh or qualtagh, is the first person to cross the threshold of a home on New Year’s Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year.

Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-footer to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at the stroke of midnight in order to first-foot (thus going out of the house after midnight and then coming back in to the same house is not considered to be first-footing).

The first-foot is traditionally a tall, dark-haired male; a female or fair-haired male are in some places regarded as unlucky. In Worcestershire, luck is ensured by stopping the first carol singer who appears and leading him through the house.  In Yorkshire it must always be a male who enters the house first, but his fairness is no objection.

The first-foot usually brings several gifts, including perhaps a coin, bread, salt, coal, or a drink (usually whisky), which respectively represent financial prosperity, food, flavour, warmth, and good cheer. In Scotland, first-footing has traditionally been more elaborate than in England, and involving subsequent entertainment

We have a traditional rhyme spoken by the first footer as they stand on the doorstep and is known locally as Mummering

Happy New Year, Happy New Year

Plenty of money and nothing to fear

Horse and a gig and a big fat pig to kill next year

Hole in my stocking, hole in my shoe

Please can you spare me a copper or two?

If you haven’t any copper, silver will do

If you haven’t any silver, God bless you !