Sunny tidings

I've just been out in the heat for a steady run as its a bank holiday in the Isle of Man. For those who follow this blog in the UK, the bank holiday over here takes some explaining. I've done it a few times already so here goes.

There has long been a tradition of two bank holidays in the summer in the Isle of Man. The first was "Senior Race Day", the final day of TT week when most of the locals would watch the races, and the other was Tynwald Day, the Manx National Day on 5 July. Before the arrival of the finance sector, most Manx people took these days instead of Whit Monday and August Bank Holiday the two UK summer holidays. It was probably only bank workers and government staff, who in those days were very small in number, who benefited from both UK and Manx public holidays.

Over time more people started taking both and after 1967 the Whit Monday holiday, which coincided with the religious festival seven weeks after Easter, was replaced by a fixed date on the last Monday in May and named the Spring Bank Holiday.

This year's UK Spring Bank Holiday has been moved to June with the Queen's Jubilee Holiday the following day. But the Isle of Man is sticking with the normal UK holiday that the UK is not taking this year!

It was deemed to be too much to take the two holidays that will be celebrated in the UK next Monday and Tuesday when we have the TT holiday on the Friday. So we are taking today, TT Friday and then celebrating the Queen's Jubilee the day after Tynwald Day on 6 July.

Lots of people still refer to the Spring Bank Holiday as Whit Monday when it isn't. This year it is!

I always hark back on the bank holiday weekend, whenever it is, to the great memories I have of taking part in the Bradford Walk. I've just re-read what I wrote in 2004 and, apart from a few typos, still reflects all my current memories.

http://www.manxathletics.com/2004features/Bradford.htm

Feeling the heat on my back this morning took me back to Pool Bank between Ottley and Leeds/Bradford Airport in the hot years of 1978 (in particular) and 1982.