Easter. Why?

 At times like this I almost wish I were religious.

Not because we seem to be hurtling towards the apocalypse or anything. No, it’s more because a few God-centric rituals would probably provide some structure to this formless four-day holiday. Duh.

I’ve always struggled a bit with Easter. My Dad was the same. “Are we following a Saturday routine today, or a Sunday routine?” he would ask Mum anxiously on Good Friday. Twelve years his junior and a lot less rigid, she would laugh dismissively. “What does it matter?” she would ask.

It matters.

Brian and I face similar dilemmas. For one thing, we usually go to the pub on a Friday to mark the start of the weekend (as you know). So on Easter weekend, should Pub Day shift to the Thursday? Then on Sundays we have “Cocktail Hour” at 5pm sharp when we have a gin and tonic (Brian) and a vodka and orange (me) as a last hurrah to the weekend. But maybe that should be moved to Easter Monday?

There’s also the issue of how to fill the days – perhaps with a day out (though the roads will be busy) or a shopping day (ditto the stores). It’s all so bewildering that we often end up going away for Easter to avoid these types of issues.

But all those past Easters knock this Easter into a cocked hat. Those other Easters are now falling about laughing at this Easter, slapping their sides and snorting in amusement at the options they offered compared with Easter 2020.

There are no pub visits this year for obvious reasons. The roads are empty, but outings of any kind are against the rules. And there was no shopping day because the stores are closed, and no question of going away in Lockdown Britain. So we spent the weekend at home, shaking things up a bit by varying our walks, quizzing with friends and drinking in slightly different parts of the garden.

Never again will I bemoan the fact that Easter is over-long and difficult to fill. In fact I’m already excited about next Easter when we can take to the busy roads and do whatever we darn well choose.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, we’ve resolved the Cocktail Hour issue and it’s going to be tonight. Cheers!


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