Extended Sunday opening hours

[BashfulAnthony]

I've been thinking about this idea of a 'time for reflection'. Sunday was always Row Day when I was growing up - on Saturday we did stuff, separately or together, but on Sunday we were all stuck together and by tea time the cracks had become chasms and dinner was eaten in silence following a slanging match.

Time for reflection is just about impossible when stuck at home with a moody teenager or tetchy grandparent. Even now most Sundays for me are an endless round of uniform washing, homework supervision and hair washing interspersed with the odd bit of sport on the TV, but there are things we can go and do if we can grab a moment. We don't end up with stuff, but memories - gardening, walking the dog - but sometimes we need to get away and escape and that involves a degree of work - staff at the gardens, staff in the pub.

I carve out my time for reflection - in the evenings before sleep, first thing in the morning when the house is quiet, even zoning out the TV to write in my journal. The one thing I can guarantee is that I won't get the luxury of a 'day of reflection' on a Sunday regardless of what is and isn't open and I strongly suspect few mothers of school aged children do.

Your comment is, in effect useless. What you say may be true for your circumstances, but how many are in a similar position, or see it as you do?  You can't know, so your argument is of no import in the discussion.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

[BashfulAnthony]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

Of those, it's the debt bit that really gets at me!     

[Rhiannon]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

[BashfulAnthony]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

Seems not, eh?  Nor any dancers around trees, or moon-worshippers, either

[Rhiannon]

I've been thinking about this idea of a 'time for reflection'. Sunday was always Row Day when I was growing up - on Saturday we did stuff, separately or together, but on Sunday we were all stuck together and by tea time the cracks had become chasms and dinner was eaten in silence following a slanging match.

Time for reflection is just about impossible when stuck at home with a moody teenager or tetchy grandparent. Even now most Sundays for me are an endless round of uniform washing, homework supervision and hair washing interspersed with the odd bit of sport on the TV, but there are things we can go and do if we can grab a moment. We don't end up with stuff, but memories - gardening, walking the dog - but sometimes we need to get away and escape and that involves a degree of work - staff at the gardens, staff in the pub.

I carve out my time for reflection - in the evenings before sleep, first thing in the morning when the house is quiet, even zoning out the TV to write in my journal. The one thing I can guarantee is that I won't get the luxury of a 'day of reflection' on a Sunday regardless of what is and isn't open and I strongly suspect few mothers of school aged children do.

Your comment is, in effect useless. What you say may be true for your circumstances, but how many are in a similar position, or see it as you do?  You can't know, so your argument is of no import in the discussion.

Hardly. Others have commented about how dreadful 'old style' Sundays were. It isn't healthy to force people into being stuck together and if everything closes and there is no transport and no leisure facilities open that is exactly what you are doing.

As for Sunday being hard graft for most mothers, go and ask a few. Believe it or not I know loads, and we are all in the same boat. Unless you have staff (and who does?) it is washing and sorting uniform and PE kit, homework etc etc.

[BashfulAnthony]

I've been thinking about this idea of a 'time for reflection'. Sunday was always Row Day when I was growing up - on Saturday we did stuff, separately or together, but on Sunday we were all stuck together and by tea time the cracks had become chasms and dinner was eaten in silence following a slanging match.

Time for reflection is just about impossible when stuck at home with a moody teenager or tetchy grandparent. Even now most Sundays for me are an endless round of uniform washing, homework supervision and hair washing interspersed with the odd bit of sport on the TV, but there are things we can go and do if we can grab a moment. We don't end up with stuff, but memories - gardening, walking the dog - but sometimes we need to get away and escape and that involves a degree of work - staff at the gardens, staff in the pub.

I carve out my time for reflection - in the evenings before sleep, first thing in the morning when the house is quiet, even zoning out the TV to write in my journal. The one thing I can guarantee is that I won't get the luxury of a 'day of reflection' on a Sunday regardless of what is and isn't open and I strongly suspect few mothers of school aged children do.

Your comment is, in effect useless. What you say may be true for your circumstances, but how many are in a similar position, or see it as you do?  You can't know, so your argument is of no import in the discussion.

Hardly. Others have commented about how dreadful 'old style' Sundays were. It isn't healthy to force people into being stuck together and if everything closes and there is no transport and no leisure facilities open that is exactly what you are doing.

As for Sunday being hard graft for most mothers, go and ask a few. Believe it or not I know loads, and we are all in the same boat. Unless you have staff (and who does?) it is washing and sorting uniform and PE kit, homework etc etc.

Not everyone is a mother  -  I'm not!!! - and they won't all feel as you do anyway. And there is plenty to do on a Sunday, in all sorts of ways.

[Rhiannon]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

Seems not, eh?  Nor any dancers around trees, or moon-worshippers, either

Where are the pagans seeking to impose our 'rules' on the rest of society? Come to that, what are our rules?

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

yep......but as far as I can see it isn't the fat Christian pissheads on this board who are extolling the virtues of having more opportunity to indulge vices they have problems owning up to.( Bedroom cavalier antitheists take note).

[Rhiannon]

I've been thinking about this idea of a 'time for reflection'. Sunday was always Row Day when I was growing up - on Saturday we did stuff, separately or together, but on Sunday we were all stuck together and by tea time the cracks had become chasms and dinner was eaten in silence following a slanging match.

Time for reflection is just about impossible when stuck at home with a moody teenager or tetchy grandparent. Even now most Sundays for me are an endless round of uniform washing, homework supervision and hair washing interspersed with the odd bit of sport on the TV, but there are things we can go and do if we can grab a moment. We don't end up with stuff, but memories - gardening, walking the dog - but sometimes we need to get away and escape and that involves a degree of work - staff at the gardens, staff in the pub.

I carve out my time for reflection - in the evenings before sleep, first thing in the morning when the house is quiet, even zoning out the TV to write in my journal. The one thing I can guarantee is that I won't get the luxury of a 'day of reflection' on a Sunday regardless of what is and isn't open and I strongly suspect few mothers of school aged children do.

Your comment is, in effect useless. What you say may be true for your circumstances, but how many are in a similar position, or see it as you do?  You can't know, so your argument is of no import in the discussion.

Hardly. Others have commented about how dreadful 'old style' Sundays were. It isn't healthy to force people into being stuck together and if everything closes and there is no transport and no leisure facilities open that is exactly what you are doing.

As for Sunday being hard graft for most mothers, go and ask a few. Believe it or not I know loads, and we are all in the same boat. Unless you have staff (and who does?) it is washing and sorting uniform and PE kit, homework etc etc.

Not everyone is a mother  -  I'm not!!! - and they won't all feel as you do anyway. And there is plenty to do on a Sunday, in all sorts of ways.

I'm not saying that everyone is. What I am saying is that this idea that we can all adopt one day as a 'national weekly holiday' as a 'time for reflection' is pie in the sky. There needs to be flexibility, that isn't dictated to us by any religion.

[Shaker]

Not everyone is a mother  -  I'm not!!! - and they won't all feel as you do anyway. And there is plenty to do on a Sunday, in all sorts of ways.

And not everyone has a family (if there's a word I never want to hear again, it's that one ...) or a family near enough to spend time with, so they won't all feel as you do anyway. Nice footbullet there.

[BashfulAnthony]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

Seems not, eh?  Nor any dancers around trees, or moon-worshippers, either

Where are the pagans seeking to impose our 'rules' on the rest of society? Come to that, what are our rules?

If you are suggesting the Church is, that's inaccurate:  they may be expressing a view, just as you are, but they could not conceivably impose their views.  How?  They accepted it when the present situation was applied; and anyway, it will be down to Local Authorities in the end, and hopefully they will gauge public opinion in their own areas.

[Rhiannon]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

yep......but as far as I can see it isn't the fat Christian pissheads on this board who are extolling the virtues of having more opportunity to indulge vices they have problems owning up to.( Bedroom cavalier antitheists take note).

Buying bread is a vice?

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

Seems not, eh?  Nor any dancers around trees, or moon-worshippers, either

Where are the pagans seeking to impose our 'rules' on the rest of society? Come to that, what are our rules?

Pagans are just as likely to have swallowed the same right wing libertarian bollocks as the antitheists it seems.

When paganism was more hippy with mythologically appreciating overtones people were more locally,socially and environmentally oriented than the position you are portraying here. Similarly atheists were usually more geered towards the rights of workers rather than consumers.

I bet the next logical step. Making all work on a sunday will be met with consternation from many here.

[BashfulAnthony]

Not everyone is a mother  -  I'm not!!! - and they won't all feel as you do anyway. And there is plenty to do on a Sunday, in all sorts of ways.

And not everyone has a family (if there's a word I never want to hear again, it's that one ...) or a family near enough to spend time with, so they won't all feel as you do anyway. Nice footbullet there.

Not so.  I have no near family, and none who care too much,either, as I have found out this day, my birthday.  So my point is a general one. 

[Walt Zingmatilder]

but there are things we can go and do if we can grab a moment.

I carve out my time for reflection

Thanks Rhiannon evidence that reflection and having time now involves the language of fighting and struggling. It shouldn't be like that.

I'm with Gonners in thinking that this is a bad situation to have got ourselves in and you just show how little choice there actually is when it comes to frenetic lifestyle...no matter how much some may bang on about having choice...Shaker, Gordon et al ( Al's the worst ).

[Shaker]

Happy birthday 

The point is that if there's one word driven into the ground in this discussion it's 'family,' but it's not hard to see any number of exceptions, exemptions and objections to the point supposedly being made. Only yesterday afternoon (or evening, I forget which) Rhiannon did a lovely post about going shopping with her chilblains which seemed to me to be every bit as much family time as going for a picnic or playing Trivial Pursuit.

[Rhiannon]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

Seems not, eh?  Nor any dancers around trees, or moon-worshippers, either

Where are the pagans seeking to impose our 'rules' on the rest of society? Come to that, what are our rules?

Pagans are just as likely to have swallowed the same right wing libertarian bollocks as the antitheists it seems.

When paganism was more hippy with mythologically appreciating overtones people were more locally,socially and environmentally oriented than the position you are portraying here. Similarly atheists were usually more geered towards the rights of workers rather than consumers.

I bet the next logical step. Making all work on a sunday will be met with consternation from many here.

No. Pagans take the view that we screw up, we pay. My 'position' is that I like to be able to choose whether or not to do my weekly shop early on a Sunday, that's all. I have to shop at some point and it'd be nice to have a choice. As I said earlier, the big malls having 24/7 opening is a different matter but I can't make peoples' moral choices for them and if that is how they want to spend their leisure time, that is their decision, however baffling I find it. But then the genie is well and truly out of the bottle as far as consumerism goes thanks to the Internet, and extending Sunday shopping hours or not will do nothing to put a brake on it. That can only come from within ourselves and the decisions we make. It can't be imposed by government.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

yep......but as far as I can see it isn't the fat Christian pissheads on this board who are extolling the virtues of having more opportunity to indulge vices they have problems owning up to.( Bedroom cavalier antitheists take note).

Buying bread is a vice?

Don't be ridiculous. A) No one is suggesting here a ban on bread B) Obesity and overspending is the problem. Not having bread on a sunday never will be.

[Rhiannon]

but there are things we can go and do if we can grab a moment.

I carve out my time for reflection

Thanks Rhiannon evidence that reflection and having time now involves the language of fighting and struggling. It shouldn't be like that.

I'm with Gonners in thinking that this is a bad situation to have got ourselves in and you just show how little choice there actually is when it comes to frenetic lifestyle...no matter how much some may bang on about having choice...Shaker, Gordon et al ( Al's the worst ).

But you want my day of reflection to be a Sunday and that is when I have to 'grab' time because it is a very busy day. You want it to be a day of leisure for me, coming and do my washing and supervise the homework.

Stopping Sunday trading isn't going to suddenly give us all a lovely day off.

[Rhiannon]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

yep......but as far as I can see it isn't the fat Christian pissheads on this board who are extolling the virtues of having more opportunity to indulge vices they have problems owning up to.( Bedroom cavalier antitheists take note).

Buying bread is a vice?

Don't be ridiculous. A) No one is suggesting here a ban on bread B) Obesity and overspending is the problem. Not having bread on a sunday never will be.

But I'm not arguing for the right to be obese or spend too much, I'm arguing for the right to buy bread. And salad admittedly.

[Rhiannon]

Birthday blessings, BA. 

[Shaker]

Does anybody want or need a full day of reflection? That would get a bit boring after not tremendously long, I'd have thought. I lead a fairly quiet life and like Rhiannon, reflect at various times - some fairly ordered, others spontaneous - throughout each day. I don't need to save it up for Sunday (why Sunday?) and cram it all into one day.

[BashfulAnthony]

Dear Bashers,

Yes slightly tongue in cheek, but alcoholism is only one blight on the landscape, diabetes, obesity, debt, poverty, as I mentioned to your old pal Shaker, humans are stupid, we need rules.

Gonnagle.

So no Christian alcoholics, fat people, drug addicts, sex addicts, gamblers then.

yep......but as far as I can see it isn't the fat Christian pissheads on this board who are extolling the virtues of having more opportunity to indulge vices they have problems owning up to.( Bedroom cavalier antitheists take note).

Buying bread is a vice?

Don't be ridiculous. A) No one is suggesting here a ban on bread B) Obesity and overspending is the problem. Not having bread on a sunday never will be.

But I'm not arguing for the right to be obese or spend too much, I'm arguing for the right to buy bread. And salad admittedly.

Are you seriously suggesting you can't find a small shop-keeper to buy bread from on a Sunday?  If you cant, get to the supermarket before 5.00pm, or buy it on Saturday!!

[Gonnagle]

Dear Bashers,

Happy Birthday old friend, for your enlightenment and a bit of humour, in my local newspaper a 103 year old lady stated her secret to longevity, whisky and curry, going by her philosophy, I am bloody immortal

Gonnagle.