Friday 17 August 2018

Bank Holidays

Another one coming up next week-end.   Another opportunity to leave the house and join a traffic queue going to somewhere or other and taking hours to get there.   The traffic will be held up on and off all the way;   the sky will be threatening at the very least; when you get to your destination either there will be a queue to get in (if it is a stately home) or the cafe will have run out of scones and cake (again, if it is a stately home.  If your plan is to go to the seaside then be assured that by the time you get there the car park will be full and all the parking places on the side of the road will be full and should you just be intending to go for a scenic drive then a heavy mist  will descend over distant views and when you get to the pretty little church you planned to visit you will find the church tower cloaked in scaffolding and danger signs everywhere to keep you well away.  Such is life on a bank holiday.   You have been warned but I don't expect it will make any difference.   At the very least I shall expect to see you in a queue for an ice cream at a parlour somewhere near me.

19 comments:

Terra said...

A big plus of being retired is I can stay home on those crazy busy bank holidays and go out another day of my choice. Ah, bliss, to avoid crowds. Are you going to brave the crowds?

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

You forgot to mention that either train-drivers or the airlines will be on strike. Otherwise you seem to have summed up the situation fairly well.

justjill said...

Another reason for being glad we relocated to Scotland. Even the posties ignore bank holidays I expect the banks are shut, but then we have less and less actual walk in banks. So the post office wins again as you can bank there, and pay in cash etc. Bank holidays here are no different to any other day. Know what - its brilliant.

Anonymous said...

I used to have to drive to my disabled son’s care home every August Bank Holiday for his summer party. It is also my birthday, 10 years that I lived in dread of my birthday, I still hate it. Fortunately he has now left school and his current care home, which is excellent, does not have a fascination with bank holiday gatherings. In fact we are taking him ou tomorrow.

I have been invited by a friend to go fishing next Saturday, which is the bank holiday, but I will get up early, drive against the traffic, because I have retired, and will ensure that the fridge is well stocked in case I am delayed on the way home and need to recover.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

I'm not driving anywhere, all I want to do is have a massive drink of gin at the moment

the veg artist said...

I live in a tourist area with lots of beaches. We stay home on Bank Holidays. Our beaches are lovely from mid-September onwards.

Virginia said...

Oh My! Never a truer word spoken!!

You could have added the crash at the intersection that has traffic backed up for miles, or diverted via narrow lanes. And everyone tries to return home at the same time, so the traffic in the later afternoon is even worse.

A lovely post, thank you

Peter said...

One of the joys of being retired is staying home on weekends and doing things during the week.
Cheers Peter

Tom Stephenson said...

See you in the parlour, Weave.

Chris said...

Hilarious blog, Weaver! You had me in stitches. Here in Canada we are fortunate that the country is big enough that you can get somewhere peaceful and free of crowds, but the traffic there and back can be horrendous. I usually just stay home and enjoy my back yard.

Granny Sue said...

Too funny! Same here in the USA over the last weekend of the month--Labor Day holiday here, and the official "end" of summer vacations. We plan to head to Toronto that weekend, probably the opposite direction of most people. Usually on a holiday weekend I'm performing somewhere, and if not--we stay home.

Cro Magnon said...

A good reason to stay at home, then venture out again when everyone is back at work.

Derek Faulkner said...

That's an unusually depressive post from you Pat, normally you can see all the positive things in life. I doubt that it'll make much difference to you anyway, if you've got any sense you'll stay around your lovely village and take Tess for lots of lovely walks.

thelma said...

We have Flamingo Land several miles down the road, which always has coach loads of people coming. But what I most dread at this time of the year are the expensive motorbikes that whizz past on the main road. They often belong to retired men and bunch up in little groups. The other thing I dread is the cyclists and having to pass them, our country lanes are full of them taking up the road.

Heather said...

We seldom went anywhere on a Bank Holiday when our children were small, or later in our lives, for just the reasons you mention here. And does anyone know why we have them? Was it ever anything to do with banks? Some have obvious religious connections but I'm not sure that goes for all of them.

Rachel Phillips said...

Bank Holidays were invented by government by Act of Parliament in the late 19th century for banks to close and give bank staff a day off and in doing so this also meant many businesses would close because business life could not function without banks being open. The end result was a day off for bank workers and by a knock on effect, a day off for factory workers. And so that was how and why bank holidays started.

Amy said...

We don't have any bank holidays here in NZ but we have other public holidays where people are pretty much everywhere in great hoards. No wonder I find it easier ordering things online.

Jean Ellen said...

Your post made me chuckle because you are spot on! As Granny Sue said, we have our next big weekend over the Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-3. Madness always, as schools start up, if they haven't already, and everyone is back to work. Traffic will be horrible, but as a retired worker, I don't have to worry about that. Keep walking Tess and enjoy the cooler weather.

Joanne Noragon said...

Right on. I believe yoy made everyone smile.