St. Mungo's Day

The Patron Saint of Glasgow

St. Mungo has been on my mind lately, and so I was not surprised to find that his Saint’s day was two days ago on January 13th. I often will think of someone and find it is near their birthday, or some other notable day in their lives. I have since childhood wished for a big, beautiful copy of Lives of the Saints, but without one, I’ve developed a strong affinity for St. Brigid (making Brigid’s crosses every year — pounding away at copper wire this year) because her Day, and Imbolc, mark my birthday.

And St. Mungo has been on my mind as I’ve been reading Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo. I found Stuart’s first novel, Shuggie Bain, last year, and loved it. It was a bleak novel, but the homey, comforting kind of bleak.

Young Mungo is harder, bleaker. And I am loving it. I cross my fingers and look forward to whichever book is first chosen to be made into a movie. My guess is it will be Mungo.

My bucket list has long contained seeing the mural in Glasgow, showing the saint as a contemporary everyman (bearing an arguable likeness to IDLES guitarist Mark “Bobo” Bowen.)

St. Mungo’s mother is quite a character too, if you’re looking to get devotional and still keeping your edge. As long as your edge is trout.

I will go to bed with my book now, and the image of iridescent trout lanterns in my head.