We could do with more public holidays to unite the nation
The sound of laughter wafts prominently through the late spring afternoon. It spreads from each and every direction on a street that could be anywhere in Britain. It passes portable pizza ovens, barbecues, tables laden with food and coolers full of beer. It emanates from the bouncy castle as the youngest ones go feral and lose themselves in the revelry.
Young and old, united in having the excuse to waste away a warm, sunny afternoon in each other's company.
As the scenes up and down the nation showed at the weekend, Britain knows how to celebrate a special occasion.
It was the same in 2012, when we had the double whammy of Olympics and Diamond
Jubilee.
Yet now we shall wait adrift, not knowing when the next collective national celebration will take place. The next time all of us will let our hair down at the same time.
Because, not to be cruel, but it does not seem likely that the Queen will make it to her Oak Jubilee – given she would have to be well over a century old.
It feels such a shame that these moments of collective celebration, of community gettogethers and street parties, are so rare (on the whole).
My girlfriend, who comes from the Valencia region of Spain, was shocked at the lack of public holidays (in the sense of this jubilee not bank holidays in general) and local festivities.
Every town and village across Valencia has its own festival each year, featuring days off work and school, events such as bull running for example, although that one doesn’t need importing.
There are other festivals throughout the year, especially around Easter and given the strong Catholic traditions in Spain, that isn’t surprising. Take a moment to look up Las Fallas, which is a bit like bonfire night on steroids.
It is not just Spain, we are just a month away from July 4 for example, and on May 17 it was Norway’s national day, when the country parties for a whole day and everything grinds to a halt.
If other nations can make more of their public holidays, why can’t we? We could all do with more events and celebrations to look forward to.