THE first I heard of St Swithin’s Day was in the Billy Bragg song about lost love.

The lament was very British in its content – not only mentioning the weather, but the Battle of Agincourt and, of course, tying it together were declarations of love on the titular St Swithin's Day.

I had no idea what the day actually commemorates, but when I realised it falls next week on Tuesday, July 15, I did a bit of research. I discovered St Swithin was a former bishop from the 9th century and, according to legend, the weather on his feast day determines the weather for the next 40 days.

The rhyme goes: “St Swithin's Day if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain; St Swithin's Day if thou be fair, for forty days 'twill rain nae mare.”

There are assorted theories on the origin of this myth, but the most likely seems to derive from a terrible storm on that day in 1315.

There is the smallest grain of truth in the fable, as around the middle of July, the jet stream settles into a pattern which usually remains until well into August. Fingers crossed for sunshine as there is plenty of fun to be had in Salisbury this summer.

We're lucky to have the Cathedral Close, Elizabeth Gardens and the water meadows, and thanks to the al fresco drinking and dining options blossoming over the city, hopefully more people will want to hang around after work.

There's also Music in the Parks every Sunday until the end of August, events at Mompesson House, and the usual specialist markets. Who knows what the forecast will be for the forty days after St Swithin’s? We're all a little obsessed with the weather – trying to guess what it will be like, thinking about it, talking about it and even making a particular day about it and imbuing it with magic and importance.

It seems appropriate that St Swithin’s Day is the name of that Billy Bragg song, as I think we've all probably felt the same about a relationship at some point.