Slightly obscure - where was I this week?

[whole diary]

[Oxonhutch]

Exactly: the two calendars were 10 days adrift in 1582 when the Gregorian one was first used, and that didn't change in 1600 (leap year in both), then slipped one more year each in 1700 (to 11), 1800 (to 12), and 1900 (to 13) but not 2000. The point being that making the correction and then sticking with the new date isn't the same as continuing to reckon by the old calendar.

And it accounts for our rather obscure tax year anniversary.

The first day of the year was historically the Feast of the Annunciation of Mary on 25th March, nine months before the birth of Christ. All business of the year, hiring of hands and property ran from that date. So when the extra 11 days were culled from the calendar (prompting rioting amongst the masses) the financial year was extended to 6th April so that nobody felt short changed.

[stuving]

The point being that making the correction and then sticking with the new date isn't the same as continuing to reckon by the old calendar.
...
Mind you, those Orthodox churches using the old calendar do now have Christmas on our 7th.

I don't think it's quite that simple. Most Orthodox calendars have Christmas Day on the 7th, but for some it's on the 6th. There don't appear to be any Orthodox churches in Abingdon though, the nearest will be in Oxford.

It is a baffling variety, including the Revised Julian Calendar which even revises the Gregorian leap-year rule. But I should have noted what I wrote a bit earlier shouldn't I? For example, and for the avoiidance of doubt, "Mind you, those Orthodox churches continuing to observe the old calendar without any change do now have Christmas on our 7th."

[stuving]

In my studies (such as they were) for Russian history at A level, I was always intrigued to note that their 'February Revolution' was in March, and their 'October Revolution' was in November, 1917.  See https://www.bl.uk/russian-revolution/articles/timeline-of-the-russian-revolution 

That could very well have confused even Sean Connery, in 'The Hunt for Red October', if such things hadn't been sorted out subsequently. 

Or you can be a year out. For example, the Acts of Union of 1707 were in practice two acts, each with its own formal title, one in each parliament. The Scottish act passed first, in January, followed by the final vote in England, in March, and the union began in May - all in the same year. So a (yes, rather pedantic) combined citation might be: "The Acts of 1707 in Scotland and 1706 in England of the Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707".

The point being that the new year was January 1st in Scotland from 1600, but in England remained March 25th until 1752. During that interval (in both senses at once) you had to watch out for the difference. And, if you go poking about in old documents, you still do.

[bobm]

There don't appear to be any Orthodox churches in Abingdon though, the nearest will be in Oxford.

Pretty sure you are correct - although in 1979 there were 49 pubs within the borough boundary.... 

[Richard Fairhurst]

Further west, New Year is still celebrated according to the Julian calendar in the Gwaun Valley in Pembrokeshire: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-16487089

It's a lovely place, especially the Dyffryn Arms (aka Bessie's) which is a miraculous survival of an old-style pub. We discovered it while cycling through on NCN 81: it's sadly a bit far to pop out for a pint from Charlbury, but a sketch of Bessie's by a local artist hangs in our living room now!

[Bmblbzzz]

This place? http://www.thedyffrynarms.com
Don't know it, but for "old-style pub" the oldest I've found was this:
https://whatpub.com/pubs/BAT/405/seymour-arms-witham-friary
The "glass paneled hatch in the central hallway" makes it look more like a very old-fashioned shop than a pub when you walk in. Could possibly be a film set from Withnail and I...

[Richard Fairhurst]

This place? http://www.thedyffrynarms.com

No - that's a different one. Bessie's definitely doesn't have a website! A brief writeup I found: https://thegrillandbarrel.wordpress.com/2013/12/23/the-dyffryn-arms-a-pub-from-another-time/

Don't know it, but for "old-style pub" the oldest I've found was this:
https://whatpub.com/pubs/BAT/405/seymour-arms-witham-friary
The "glass paneled hatch in the central hallway" makes it look more like a very old-fashioned shop than a pub when you walk in. Could possibly be a film set from Withnail and I...

Ah yes - went there on a Sustrans volunteer weekend a few years ago. I vaguely remember the wonderful cider. (Good cider is usually only vaguely remembered.)

[Bmblbzzz]

Glad about that, cos I was looking at the other Dyffryn Arms and thinking it looked like any other country pub!