(Thanks @Guywoods for the image)

It’s the shortest day of the year, and in Dublin this morning it’s a bright and sunny morning, perfect for those lucky enough to experience the wonder that is Newgrange the oldest neolithic monument in the world older than Stonehenge or the Pyramids in Egypt.

Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the winter solstice sun. Above the entrance to the passage at Newgrange there is a opening called a roof-box. This baffling orifice held a great surprise for those who unearthed it. Its purpose is to allow sunlight to penetrate the chamber on the shortest days of the year, around December 21st, the winter solstice.

People gather at Newgrange in the morning darkness to end the longest night of the year as people did 5,000 years before them , it’s quite a remarkable experience, so popular now there is a free lottery system for tickets to the event.

It’s a great time for reflection in what is such a hectic time of the year, to stop for a moment and appreciate out lives and families and look forward to the next season and year ahead.

While in the hairdressers recently, I was flicking through magazines past all the ads and looking for an article in The British edition of Vogue when I came across a fantastic article all about the Aran.

“The deliciously cosy, creamy coloured cabele-knitted sweater that whispers good taste – and this season no-cold winter wardrobe should be without one”.

According to Michael Kors it has “it has stood the test of time because it’s chic and practical “. The Michael Kors autumn collection featured an Aran with elbow-length sleeves and a Peter Pan collar.

A favourite in the Fifties and Sixties endorsed by Grace Kelly and Steve McQueen………..

Originating in the Aran islands, the cluster of islands off the West Coast of Ireland, winters were and are still harsh, fishing was the major source of income for the islanders and the local women hand knit Aran Sweaters to keep the fishermen warm and protected. At that time they were made from 100% untreated wool which still contained the lanolin making it quite water resistant.

Very few fisherman could swim, many families had their own distinct combination of stitches that identified family names so fishermen could be identified should they be lost and drowned and sea.

Thank you Vogue for a wonderful article on an Irish legend.