Bank holiday weekends in Britain are meant to be grey washouts - but not so this particular Bank Holiday weekend. Here in the heart of our country, the weather has been brilliant - wall-to-wall sunshine with many lard-coloured legs on show and young Tom in our local pub was even in flip flops! I told him it was a helluva long way to the beach!
Great Britain is a land steeped in history and traditions that can be traced back to the mists of time and yet most of our public holidays are boringly called "bank" holidays. Why? I mean - who cares about banks or bankers or banking? After all it's only money. I was with Jesus 100% when he got bloody angry and upturned the moneylenders' tables. Damned Pharisees! Our public holidays should be given names that matter - as in America with its Memorial Day, its Independence Day, its Martin Luther King Day etc.. How about Robin Hood Day? 1966 World Cup Memorial Day? We Stuffed the Jerries in Two World Wars Day? Other suggestions will be gratefully received.
We have seen both of our offspring this weekend. Ian stayed over before heading up to Glasgow to visit an old school friend who has had the shadow of death hanging over him for a couple of years now because of leukemia. At great expense to the NHS, he has recently received stem cell treatment and his future hangs in the balance at only twenty eight years of age. He's also called Tom. Frances, on the other hand, is excited that her steady progress as a recruitment consultant will soon see her taking possession of a company car. We went to look at Minis this afternoon. Mmm..maybe!
On Saturday I was out walking again, just east of Buxton in the High Peak and from that pleasant country ramble I have selected another five pictures to share with you. As the bishop said to the actress - "Click to enlarge"....
 |
| Old limestone barn near Tunstead |
 |
| View of an old barn above Peter Dale |
 |
| The vast limestone quarries near Tunstead |
 |
| A blast shelter on the quarry rim |
 |
| St Margaret's Church in Wormhill |
Well that;s not fair! We had rain from late morning here in sunny Wales!
ReplyDeleteMakes me feel a bit homesick. Even Tunstead has a grandeur
ReplyDeleteGreat pics Sir YP ~ indeed fine weather.
ReplyDeleteAgree ~ your bank holidays should be given more interesting names.
We have Australia Day, Anzac Day, Labor Day, Queen's Birthday and then a day for our Agricultural Shows in each town or city.
Most states have one other day to celebrate something special in that state ~ too many to list, but most notable would be Melbourne Cup Day for people in Victoria for "the horse race that stops a Nation"
JENNY It's important that rain keeps falling on Wales in order to top up the reservoirs that supply Birmingham, Liverpool etc.
ReplyDeleteADRIAN When I came up to the rim, I had little idea what lay beyond. Tunstead was like a manmade Grand Canyon.
CAROL CUNNINGHAM Thanks for that - even a very young country like Australia has snubbed the banks when choosing names for its public holidays. Over here I'd vote for a Yorkshire Pudding Day. There'd be Yorkshire pudding eating contests and frisbee competitions using old Yorkshire puddings. Women would stitch Yorkshire puddings together to make nightgowns and men would swap tales about Yorkshire puddings of yore while drinking pints of Yorkshire pudding ale.
How about Whit Weekend? It sounds more descriptive of the usual holiday weather and it seems to have passed most of us by that it was Whit Friday last week, heathens that we are.
ReplyDeleteNothing like Britain in the Spring !
ReplyDelete