May Day Seed Sowing and Happy Birthday Claire!

May Day and I'm hoping to sow some carrot seeds today - we've had a lot of April showers over the last couple of days so the ground is all set for growing - warm and damp! If all goes to plan my carrots should be ready to harvest by mid July and as I wanted to note this day I've created this little card with my Waltzingmouse Earthangel set. I would like to send it to Claire, the talented owner of Walzingmouse Stamps in Ireland. Today is a big day for Walzingmouse as over the past year Claire's wonderfully creative blog has grown into a very successful company producing brilliant acrylic stamp sets designed by Claire herself. So Happy First Birthday and Congratulations on your fabulous first year Claire! If you visit Walzingmouse today you will see exactly why we crafters love Claire's designs. Can't wait to see the 8 (yes 8!) sets she will be releasing at 7.00 pm tonight!

And if that wasn't enough to look forward to, Claire is running a competition to celebrate (finishing at midday today - Saturday) and the lucky winner will receive a set of each stamp set released today - what more could a crafter want! So my Earthangel card is my entry to the competition and I've got all fingers and toes crossed.
And finally, as it is May Day, some May Queens. The first queen is my Mum as Knighton May Queen in 1932- they look rather anxious don't they. And below a Criccieth May Queen of about the same time, with my Mum's cousin Lowri as a Queen's attendant, second from the left sitting on the floor. One more Criccieth May Queen, and the little girl on the left looking into the distance is my Aunty Gaenor , my Nain's (Grandmother) sister. This is 1914 and no doubt the last May Day celebration before the dark days to come.
Does anyone remember the May Day processions of the past - and dancing round the Maypole? I can just remember processions in Rhyl in the 1950s and an exciting concert in the pavilion on the promenade to follow - such a shame these traditions have all but disappeared.

Edit - Talking to Mum about the photo today, she said they were all really scared of the photographer's flash and look so anxious as they were waiting for the bang! When it went off Mum burst into tears and her headmistress ("a sarcastic so-and-so") said "fancy a Queen crying!" Mum was 7 years old - I don't think a 7-year-old today, used to the casual violence of video games and cartoons, would take fright at a photographer's flashgun!