Thursday 23 March 2023

Thursday? What Day is it...?


This Magpie was chancing his luck yesterday.  I caught him from a fair distance via a dirty window.  He was sitting quite contentedly in the area belong to the Crows of this parish.  Had they seen him there would have been a stramash of epic proportions.  These birds are very jealous of their roost and the surrounding area. He was not in their roost, that is over the other side, but this is their feeding grounds and had he met them then he would have been their feed.  
A bird has a difficult life.  From learning to fly, by being pushed out of the nest by mum, to seeking food, nuts, worms, beetles, scraps etc, and all the while keeping a wary eye on larger birds or other animals that might delight in making you lunch.  You never see small birds just resting, their heads are always warily on the move, one eye on the surroundings.  A little bit like me wandering around Tesco this morning.
Thursday is a good day to shop.  It once was the town's 'closed day,' a chance for those forced to work Saturday's to have a day off.  Some still close Thursday but it has really come to an end that attitude.  However, the townspeople still react by not shopping on Thursday, all shops take less on that day than any other, the museum was the same.  Naturally, for this reason I try to shop Thursdays each week.  I will pop up to Sainsburys for bread and milk on Saturday but hopefully all other items are now in.  
It was once the norm for each town to have a 'half day closing,' in Edinburgh when I was a boy it was Saturday!  Until the 60s Edinburgh's main shops closed on Saturdays, Leith on the other hand closed on Wednesday's.  That explains why I was dragged through Leith on a Saturday, in spite of the crowds, and 'up town' on other days.  All very confusing for a wee boy.  
Today almost everywhere is open all the time, holidays included.  Easter and Christmas may see a day off for many, but even deliveries to your house may be made seven days a week, rather than a more sensible five days and Saturday morning.  
The nation requires a rest day.  The idea that we can have what we want, when we want it, sounds fine, unless you are forced to work those days.  Busy traffic seven days a week outside your house may benefit some, but it does not do you much good.  Living in big cities or towns does have advantages, it is also noisy, polluted and horrible at times.  Having this seven days a week lowers the lifespan, stress, neighbours, noise, all add up and wear you down.  We need a day off.
The Romans had many days off for 'religious' reasons.  Some say they took a month off altogether once a year, if I read that right.  Less lucky people do not get a day off, let alone a week.  How lucky we are.
The biblical one day off to rest and worship God, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath,"  is a good way to deal with things.  Six days is enough for most to obtain what they want, few really need to shop on a Sunday, no matter what most say, and I have done seven day shifts in the past, plenty of time to obtain the needful.  A quiet street, even a busy one is always good, the locals need it, the people need a day to themselves, and not like it was in the 50s where nothing at all happened, and the parks were locked in some places.  Enjoyment must be the thing on such a day, not more misery.
I should talk like this.  Once more I had to check the calendar and the laptop to ensure this is Thursday the 23rd.  Each morning I have to ask 'what day is it?'  A day off would just confuse me!


3 comments:

the fly in the web said...

When young I remember shops having a half day on Wednesdays and nothing at all being open on Sundays - though the parks were open!
Then there came a breach in the wall...the garden centres!

the fly in the web said...

And I forgot.....years ago in Fort William I was with my father when a chap oozed out of a pub, hailed us and asked 'whit time is it?' Father told him...he contemplated then asked 'An' whit day is it?'

Adullamite said...

Fly, Only newsagents and bakers opened Sundays. Ah yes, garden centres.

Fly, Sounds like me each morning!