Dear LPG,

I got up yesterday morning, which happened to be a Sunday, and put the television on just in time to find out what the weather would be like.    We have to agree that, as springs go weather-wise, we have enjoyed really good weather this year which, in the light of the lock down has made looking out of our windows a pleasant experience even if we could not go further than the ends of our gardens to enjoy it.   As the forecaster was talking about what we should expect, he mentioned that the whether on Bank Holiday Monday would offer more of the same, which was what I would have expected but, as I reviewed his sentence I focussed on the words Bank Holiday for a while.  His forecast had been my first inkling that I was living through the day before Whit Monday when I thought about it, and I had just worked it out. 

It is often said that we British grumble about how few Bank Holidays we have in comparison with other countries, but then I realised that this is the 4^th that has had little significance because of the situation we are living through.   For some, bank holidays can be an excuse to do absolutely nothing for a day but, to a large extent being shut away at home for as long as we all have been, has forced us to do that for the best part of three months, so I can imagine many thinking, ‘so what is so special about a Bank Holiday?’

In my aim to remain positive, I have decided to do something that can be loosely thought of as memorable this bank holiday and, after a little consideration, I thought it would be good to write my thoughts down and share them. 

I decided to try to make a prediction and put it in writing.  Although I wrote this on Whit Monday, I have asked LPG to print this message today in the hope that this Bank holiday can be marked with a little more celebration than the last four we have experienced.  With a bit of luck, during the three months which have passed since I ‘penned’ this thought, life might be getting back to what can be thought of as a little more normal than it has been for a while. 

So if we are still ‘locked down’ I wish readers the best holiday you can have, but if it is safe to venture back out into the big bad world, I hope that it is possible to celebrate by getting together with those special friends and family who we have not been able to really see for so long, so that we can all celebrate getting back to a new version of ‘normal’; weather permitting or not!

FS, Blackheath