A Bastard of a Boss

Most of us know that Monday is not the Queen’s birthday other than in the honouring. Queen Elizabeth II’s actual birthday 20th April and she is now 87. But we and other countries of the Commonwealth choose another day. Though, to be more accurate, the day is chosen for us. You may not know that whilst Queen’s Birthday varies among countries it is usually around the end of May beginning of June to coincide with—and get this—“the likelihood of fine weather in the Northern Hemisphere to accommodate outdoor celebrations.” All very fine for the Brits and the Canadians but looking out my window at the weather here I more than content to leave the mother-country to it and go back to bed. Some see Queen’s Birthday as an archaic and foreign tradition. Some want to do away with it entirely; others want it replaced with Matariki (Maori New Year) or the more politically palatable Hillary Day. The impetus for the last was as late as 2009. But as far as I am aware there is no intent to change in the near future. One change I have noted of late though is the newly-found propensity to turn Queen’s Birthday into a four-day weekend a la Easter. I know many who are taking today (Friday) off. Maybe it is the proximity to Easter and our desire to “shout” ourselves another long(er) weekend , maybe employers are more flexible—maybe we are more in tune with life balance. Whatever the reason, I am pretty sure that traffic on the road this morning will be lighter than usual, at least inbound to the city. So what is it to be for me? Bed or business? It be business. I work for myself, self-employed, and I be a bastard of a boss. Have a good weekend, whenever it starts.