Easter will never be the same now that pubs open on Good Friday

I’M calling last Friday the Long Good Friday that never was. I don’t know about the rest of you but Easter seems to have totally bypassed me this year. First of all the pubs were open. Now you probably thought you’d never hear me give out about pubs being open but somehow it feels all wrong for them to be open on Good Friday.

That’s not because I’m religious. But I do like a bit of ritual and on Good Friday there’s certain rituals you’d adhere to and the pubs being closed was one of them. The fact you weren’t allowed into a pub made it all the more exciting when you occasionally gained entry to a sneaky lock-in. There was a certain smugness at having scored a pint behind The Lords back, God forgive me.

Or even better, going to the off licence on Holy Thursday and stocking up on a few bottles to have at home the next day after you had your one meal and two collations. you might even do a few stations of the cross, just to keep in with The Man Himself.

But now that’s all gone and it’s just like every other day of the year. The pubs were open, the supermarkets were open and people went to work. The man on the fish counter in my local shop told me they hadn’t sold half as much fish as previous years. All the rituals are dying out.

And because I am a sort of contrary person, the fact I could legitimately go to the pub made me not want to go this year. The thrill of doing something you’re not supposed to was gone.

To add insult to injury we appear to have swapped climates with Spain for the Easter weekend. People were walking around in shorts and vest tops, sporting sun-burnt faces and dodgy fake tanned legs. It felt more like a June bank holiday weekend, not that I’m complaining about a bit of sunshine but I like things to be in a certain order and 20 degrees in April had me discombobulated.

Next thing you know they’ll be opening the pubs on Christmas Day. We might as well just tell Santa to not bother coming at all if that’s the case.

Or let’s just have Christmas in July to completely mess with my head.

THE FACT YOU WEREN’T ALLOWED INTO A PUB MADE IT ALL THE MORE EXCITING WHEN YOU OCCASIONALLY GAINED ENTRY TO A SNEAKY LOCK-IN.