Bank Holidays

Monday was a Bank Holiday and, of course, it was raining. I do not quite know what this Bank Holiday celebrates. It used to be Whitsun, the day following the seventh Sunday after Easter - or Pentecost; the day that the Holy Ghost came down on the Disciples and 50 days after the Resurrection. This year that day is on 31st May or one week later. We have a May Day Bank Holiday - this year on 4th May - which was a rather odd introduction by the Labour government in 1978. It could have been a simple celebration of the approach of summer - as it had been in pre-Christian days. But Jim Callaghan's government tried to tie it to Socialist traditions and revolution. In the public mind it had more to do with Communism and military displays. Most likely, the extra holiday was no more than a vain attempt to persuade the public that things were all rather good, when the economy was in a mess [as usual] and half the nation was threatening to go on strike. Of course it was a failure. The May Day Bank Holiday in 1978 was cold and wet and many tourist spots, wary of the weather, remained closed. And then came the winter of discontent with everyone on strike and another Labour government headed for the rocks.

But we still have this Late May Bank Holiday that slots into school half-term holidays but I can see no other reason for it. Why not add it onto the Christmas batch of bank holidays -say January 2nd and avoid the pointless disruptions. Nobody bothers about the weather then. We expect rain snow or hail and nobody cares what the Meteorological Office forecasts unless they suggest snow 10 feet [3.048 metres] deep and all the roads blocked. If they say it will be cold and wet, we expect it. If it turns out fine, we enjoy it. That's the best approach to weather.

/

Eric's mum thinks it would be better if we could each fix our own Bank Holidays to suit our individual needs. Some may suggest that we already do. We call them sickies.