Welcome to one of the New England's prettiest months of the year! At the Spellman, we love opening our doors out to the lovely, sprawling Regis College campus grounds. Our museum is rich in visuals inside, of course, but our setting is pretty fantastic, too. Stop by to see us!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

The phrase “April showers bring May flowers” is a popular saying used often during the month of April as we try to feel better about all of the rain!. 

Where did that saying come from, anyway?

1. The month of April, traditionally a rainy period, gives way to May, when flowers will bloom because of the water provided to them by the April rains.
2. People sometimes use it metaphorically: A period of discomfort or hardship can provide the basis for a period of happiness and joy.

Here's it's Origin

The saying “April showers bring May flowers” itself actually originates from the United Kingdom, where April for them is one of the more soggy months based on the position of the jet stream. Since this area typically has a cooler climate, the lower temperatures often push back the appearance of flowers to late April and early May. The phrase is also believed to come from an early poem with a line that goes, “Sweet April showers, do spring May flowers.”

Speaking of the United Kingdom...

Reminder that King Charles III postage stamp has been issued in the United Kingdom, and indeed, he is the first monarch in British History to be documented without a crown. His royal highness will be officially crowned on May 6. This stamp design was created from a sculpture by Martin Jennings. We love many of the stamps on which he has appeared over the years in various countries.

AND ANOTHER CHARLES - RAY CHARLES!

Ray Charles was a legendary musician often called the "Genius,” who pioneered the genre of soul music during the 1950s.

Charles combined blues, gospel, R&B, rock, country music and jazz to create groundbreaking hits such as “Unchain My Heart,” “I’ve Got A Woman” and “What I’d Say.” His impressive multi-award winning 50-year career left an indelible mark on contemporary music all over the world.

Born Ray Charles Robinson on September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia, he was raised in Greenville, Florida, and started playing the piano before he was five. At age six, he contracted glaucoma that eventually left him blind. He studied composition (writing music in Braille) and learned to play the alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, and organ while attending the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind from 1937 to 1945. His father died when he was 10, his mother five years later, and he left school to work in dance bands around Florida, dropping his last name to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. In 1947, with $600 he moved to Seattle and worked as a Nat “King” Cole-style singer.

In the decades after Seattle, Ray Charles continued his contributions to the many facets of music in which he excelled. His numerous awards include 8 honorary doctoral degrees, 17 GRAMMYs, the GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award, President’s Merit Award, and Kennedy Center Honors, among others. Heads of State, Presidents, Political Dignitaries and members of Royal families have recognized him repeatedly. The King and Queen of Sweden chose him to receive the Polar Music Award, which is that country’s most prestigious award. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #10 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” and #2 on their list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” And in 2013 Ray Charles even received a United States Postal Stamp.

One his warmest compliments came from the “Chairman of the Board” Frank Sinatra, who gave him the name “Genius” “the only true Genius in show business.”

MAY BIRTHSTONE: EMERALD

MAY FLOWER: HAWTHORN AND

LILY OF THE VALLEY