Song of the Day - 1st April
Happy April! The 1st of April is of course April's Fools Day. I have seen several funnies this morning, ranging from firefighters fast-responding on bikes fitted with 50ft hoses, to a helter skelter being fitted around Blackpool Tower. Although many theories have been proposed, the exact origin of April Fools' Day is not known. A disputed association between 1st April and foolishness is in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales (1392). In 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval referred to a poisson d'avril (April fool, literally "April's fish"), possibly the first reference to the celebration in France. In Italy, France, Belgium and French-speaking areas of Switzerland and Canada, the 1st April tradition is still often known as "April fish". There is also an unambiguous reference to April Fools' Day in a 1561 poem by Flemish poet Eduard de Dene of a nobleman who sent his servant on foolish errands on 1st April. The poem I have set to celebrat...