Mish Mash

We have done quite a bit of nothing over the past week here. The kids are racing toward the school finish line in June; big projects, school trips, final exams. Chizz has been busy at work, putting in some overtime, working a few weekends. I have been trying to coordinate our summer plans. It hasn't left much time for us to be out and about in a big way.

This past weekend was a bank holiday weekend. Bank holidays are like public or government holidays in the US. In the early 1800s there were 30+ holidays taken off during the business year, mostly different saint's days or days of religious significance. In 1871 that all stopped and they went from 33 different holidays to just 4, (Boxing Day, Easter Monday, First Monday in May, First Monday in August). Holidays like Christmas and Good Friday were already recognized as common holidays and not covered under the Bank Holiday Act. They were called bank holidays mainly because the banks were closed that day and by special legislation if any payment is due that day, the due date is pushed forward a day with no penalty assessed. Originally the guy who sponsored the legislation thought they should have one or two days off per year that would allow bank employees to go to cricket matches. No lie! So he threw a few dates in there to cover that requirement. It has evolved over the years to include more dates and each country in the United Kingdom (Scotland, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and England/Wales,) has slightly different bank holidays. For example, Ireland has a bank holiday for St. Patrick's Day and Scotland for St. Andrew's day.

The kids had several social obligations this weekend and of course, we had none. One of the benefits of the kids having socials lives is that it gives us a lot of time to do stuff together. And of course for Chizz, free time means pub time. So we went to our local favorite pub one night for dinner. The next night we went to the Canalway Cavalcade. It is a festival of sorts on the canal in Little Venice not far from our house. During the day they have all kinds of floating performances, puppet shows, food booths, etc. At night they have a parade of illuminated canal boats. Most of the boats are decorated with Christmas lights and thousands of people show up to watch the different boats pass by.
Some of the passengers on the boats put on quite the display, sometimes fueled by enthusiasm, sometimes fueled by something more liquid. We saw some over enthusiastic baton twirlers that I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up their night in the canal at some point. I didn't have my camera but I found a photo on the internet that gives you an idea. It is kind of hard to make out but the canal boat is going under a bridge in Little Venice.

Ended up the weekend the kids favorite way, an exhibit at a museum. One of the great things about museums here is that they are for the most part free. Sometimes a special exhibit might have a fee but usually entrance is free. So it gives you an opportunity to go to the museum and see one thing or concentrate on one wing for an hour or so. An hour is just about Snake's limit. We went to the Tate Britain and saw the JW Turner exhibit. He was an English artist especially known for his landscapes. While we were there we saw a controversial new exhibit by a local artist, Mark Wallinger called State Britain. It is a recreation of a protest display in Parliament Square. A man named Brian Haw has been demonstrating in Parliament Square outside the Houses of Parliament since June 2001. Except when he has been arrested or to
appear in Court he has been there continuously since 2001, before September 11, to protest Britain's policies against Iraq. The exhibit is a recreation of his 600 pieces of posters, banners, newspaper articles, safety cones, flags etc. This is a picture of the actual protest site. Apparently it became such a nuisance to some of the Members of Parliament that they passed a law making it a criminal offense to erect a semi-permanent protest so many feet from the Houses of Parliament. Unfortunately for them, there were enough loopholes and ambiguities in the law that the one person they passed the law to run out of town, it doesn't affect. The courts have ruled several times in Mr. Haw's favor, indicating that there were no provisions in the law for it to
be retroactive and other issues. It has been an ongoing tug of war between the lawmakers and Mr. Haw and it will probably continue. The exhibit of his protest is now nominated for an art award. This is a picture of the exhibit at the museum.

You know, I think I can create that kind of art here at home if I don't put out the recycling for a few days, wash the pots and pans or let the kids's rooms pile up. Yes, it would be difficult but I would be willing to sacrifice for my art. Maybe I will get nominated for a prestigious art award. I will let you know.