Today is a bank holiday. That’s because Christmas Day fell on a Sunday this year. The shops will mostly be open though. Long gone are the days when a bank holiday meant that almost all the shops closed. I wonder if shop assistants and hospitality staff receive extra pay for working on a bank holiday. 

I walked out in the drizzle this morning to pick up extra milk from the co-op store, which was open, as expected. 

Back when I worked in a shoe shop as a teenager, Saturdays during term time and full time in the summer holidays, we used to receive 50% extra for working on bank holidays. This was at a time when shops also had half day closing, one day a week when the shop closed at 1.00pm and the town centre went quiet. As I grew up in the seaside town of Southport, in the summer time the half day closing disappeared - after all holidaymakers might want to buy new shoes or sandals - and we shop assistants had a half day off on lieu at some other time of the week. Those were the days, when shops closed at 5.30 or 6.00 at the latest and shopping streets became dead areas! 

I was having that kind of nostalgic talk with an old friend this morning as I walked back from the village. He remembered buying his first car (second time but new to him) for £800 back in the 1960s. Life’s a bit different, and more expensive, now. £800 was still a hefty chunk out of his annual salary but it was manageable..

At the other end of the scale is the prospect of spending a minimum of £7,585 for a three-night New Year’s Eve break to “ring in the bells and celebrate Hogmanay in style” in Scotland’s five-star Gleneagles hotel. Or maybe a “house party” at Whatley Manor, a luxury hotel and spa in the Cotswolds that is hosting a black tie gala dinner on Saturday as part of three-night breaks costing as much as £5,200 – plus an extra £300 if you want to bring your dog. More on such nonsense here. 

It’s a whole different way of celebrating, a whole different way of living in a time of economic crisis. 

I think we’ll just stay at home for New Year’s Eve. There’s still a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!