The "royal progress" was an important part of Tudor life. With the approach of summer, the court in London was uprooted and the monarch led the entire royal household on a leisurely tour, or "progress", through the English countryside, lodging for a time at many of the great rural estates along the way.
Faint lingering shadows of this ancient custom can sometimes be discerned in the modern world of meteorology; this week Met Eireann's travelling roadshow will pitch its tent in Co Offaly, honouring with its presence the National Ploughing Championships at Five alley, outside Birr.
The reasons for Elizabethan progresses were almost biological. The vast numbers of people making up a royal court placed great strains upon the local sanitary system. A pervasive odour, most noticeable in summer, was often the signal that it was time the court moved on.
Modern meteorological progresses, however, respond to different stimuli. In the case of the ploughing championships, the attendance of Met Eireann is an acknowledgment of the close relationship existing between meteorology and agriculture.
High technology has brought precision to the farming industry, so that there are few areas of uncertainty remaining - but one of them is weather.
Our temperate climate here in Ireland is a rich resource. The pervasive influence of its volatility, however, must be addressed if the farmer is to maximise both efficiency of production and the quality of food produced.
The most urgent need is for timely and accurate weather forecasts, so that the routine on the farm can be arranged to suit prevailing conditions. The farming community also benefits, however, from up-to-date information on growth rates, drying conditions, the "traffic ability" of land, and conditions amenable to weather-related plant and animal diseases.
For a modest fee, farmers who have very specific needs can obtain a forecast for their own area, specially tailored to their individual requirements, by fax or telephone directly from the Central Analysis and Forecast Office in Glasnevin.
The exhibits at the Fivealley weather stand will include much of the electronic gadgetry you read about from time to time in Weather Eye.
Weather radar, for example, will be in operation to give warning of approaching showers; terminals interacting directly with the computers in Glasnevin will provide colourful examples of any weather charts that one might wish to see.
There are archived displays of the recent Hurricane Erika and other significant meteorological events in the recent past; and - perhaps most importantly - kindly, concerned and helpful weather people will be there to explain their electronic gadgetry, and the many tricks of their mysterious trade, to anyone who shows a modicum of interest.