The Willows at Christmas The Willows at Christmas The Willows at Christmas is a children's novel by English writer William Horwood, first published in 1999. It is the fourth book of the "Tales of the Willows" series, a collection of four sequels to Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows". "The Willows at Christmas" is set after the events of "The Wind in the Willows" but before "The Willows in Winter". It is illustrated by Patrick Benson and includes full-page colour pictures . The twelve days of Christmas are fast approaching and Mole is planning to enjoy every one of them with his River
Night of the Big Wind at hand. The Old-Age Pensions Act 1908 introduced pensions for over-70s, but many Irish Catholics prior to the Registration of Births and Deaths (Ireland) Act, 1863 had no birth registration. One of the questions used to establish proof of age was whether the applicant remembered the Night of the Big Wind. A popular story holds that the storm inspired the Director of Armagh Observatory, the Reverend Romney Robinson, to develop the cup-anemometer, which remains the commonly used wind measuring device today. Irish language poems about the event include "Oíche na Gaoithe Móire" by Micheál de Búrc (c.1800 – 1881) and