Good Friday?

I feel quite fortunate today as I have been enjoying the first of four days off...well needed I may add but none the less gratefully accepted. The reason of course is Easter, the moving target of religious festivals, sometimes early March sometimes, as this year mid April, obviously the Emperor Constantine couldn't quite decide when he fancied his Spring break at the council meeting which decided the festival dates, so Easter became a moveable feast. Now as those who know me are aware I don't normally do religion but I was reminded today of a Good Friday around 40 years ago which links in with all of the above. I was around 7or 8 and for some reason that I am unable to recall my dad had to go out on Good Friday afternoon, I went with him. Though I can't remember the reason I do remember vividly what I saw and heard, or rather what I didn't. We walked into the town and possibly for the first time in my life I saw no people, not a soul...just me and my dad walking through the town centre, not only were the no people but there were no cars, no buses, nothing, only my dad and me and some pigeons and I am sure they were there because they felt they should be. Now why would this spring into my mind today again? Apart from it being Good Friday of course. Well not too many years into the future Easter for me was a blurr of work for I was caught up in the aftermath of the changing attitudes of our land. How can people live without being able to do anything on one Friday and Monday each spring? How on earth can people manage without some kind of retail therapy for 24 hours? How can the economy survive?? Truth is they could live,manage and survive but somehow,as mentioned in a previous blog, we as a nation seem to think that we should never take any time off for no reason...hang on though...isn't it Easter? This brings me back to the point of not doing religion, if you are a believer Easter is the most important festival of the year, but in all the years that the erosion of the holiday took place I cannot remember much in the way of objection from our churches. First it was...a few hours open if you want, then 9-6 only, now it is a free for all with my local supermarket open 24 hours, a full bus and train service, all manner of places to go with your loved ones to be served and attended to by people away from their loved ones...very Christian. There has been a news story this week about bringing religion more into the public debate, if it happens then the people who debate it have to include all angles, and not do a Constantine and select the bits that suit. As I pointed out I don't really do religion but I would like to ask whoever leads the debate about where they stand on the story of ridding the temple of the sellers and the "den of thieves" though somehow I am not sure I would get an answer. Happy Easter everyone and if you have been lucky enough to have a few days off, stay in and enjoy, back to normal soon, see if you notice the difference. However if you feel you need to be Christian over the holiday pop down to your local tesco temple and read the sign which says "sorry we are closed Easter Sunday" and forgive them, for they know not what they do...or do they?

Odds and Apps

Did you know that as I write this blog the Venezuelan Ladies under 17 football team are pitting their wits against their Italian equivalent? Don't worry if you didn't I am not even sure that the majority of the good people of the two protagonists are sat on the edge of their seats huddled around the TV or radio hanging on the every word a South American John Motson. So, how is it that yours truly know about this iconic sporting event? Well...it's all to do with the Grand National, an annual flutter and the downloading of a couple Apps. Having performed a kind acupuncture on the list of runners and riders for tomorrow I thought why not avoid the annual trip to the betting shop and take a leap into the 21st century and have an online dabble, after all Vic Paddy Ray et al make it sound easy and entice you with offers. It was after the download and looking at each of the sites that the only thing that's easy is the losing of money. I listened to a debate the other week about why the number of people with gambling addictions is rising, it was similar to the debate I heard about binge drinking...the main cog in the wheel was ignored, the ease of obtaining your addiction. Off licences and supermarkets have made it so easy and in relevant terms inexpensive to obtain alcohol in greater quantities than ever, the new look book makers and their cyberspace offshoots have the same affect. Now, I know, that some of the few who read this will be saying" it's up to the individual" and in many ways your right. However, when an individual becomes a vulnerable individual then that attitude changes and when there a suddenly thousands of vulnerable individuals then everyone's attitudes need to change. Which brings me back to our young ladies football match. As I'm not a gambler I chuckled at first,shook my head and moved on, deleting the app, if I was a gambler there was a host of in play options with ever changing odds all just one click of a button, and another click and another click away and before you know it you could have lost more money the they took at the ground. And if under 17s international ladies football isn't your thing, you could always try, well, almost anything... My old grandad used to say he knew people who would bet on two flies crawling up a wall...have a bang on that!