Meathman's Diary: Seeing red over Blue Monday and the need to label everything!
Did you survive Blue Monday? It's the one day of the year we feel the most depressed, according to the lobotomised boffins who pick a day of the week, put a colour before it and decide how we should think and behave and have the media repeat it until we’re all Blue in the face.
Blue Monday, they tell us, will be the random January day that has everyone ringing in sick, sitting at home in their pants and watching The Chase and Loose Women between bouts of uncontrollable crying and self loathing.
Of course, it's jingoistic bulls**t. Yes January, can be a bit of a grind. The weather, the back to work/school, the cold, the dark with that squint of light on the horizon that is pay day not to mention a Trump inauguration but we have January every year and guess what, we get through it.
We're obsessed with labelling everything now including days of the week
We hijacked Black Friday from the US, derived from events in 50s Philadelphia when cops struggled to control post Thanksgiving crowds coming into the cities to shop.
Now it's been transformed and rehabilitated to be that must-participate annual retailfest where gullible punters lose their collective minds to splurge cash on blenders, sofas and 699" TVs that can be seen from space. After all, nothing screams bargain quite like a neon price sticker slapped over the same original price tag on the side of a Nespresso!
What's next? If we're going to put silly labels on our precious days, at least let's make them positive and productive.
What about a Wild Wednesday, where we get outdoors regardless of weather and appreciate the magnificent countryside and wildlife that's never far from any of us. Our bogs, monuments, parks, rivers and greenways. Get out there, take photos (send them to us), sit still, bring a flask, buy a coffee, meet a friend, walk a dog... just make sure it's yours!
Theatre Thursday and yes, we're looking at you, cinema and venue operators. Put on cut price screenings of classic movies and reduce the cost of the nachos and popcorn so it won't cost us the GDP of a small country.
Encourage all the local amateur drama, theatre groups and up-and-coming musical talent in the county on board to stage special Thursday performances and showcases.
Civil Saturday, and here's the one for the hi-vizzers. Link in with your local Tidy Towns or community clean up heroes who do magnificent work keeping their local environment pristine. There is nothing more satisfying than stripping a rural grass verge or urban alleyway of bottles, plastic and takeaway detritus. It shouldn't be there in the first place of course, but that's a different column. It's amazing what a group of enthusiastic volunteers and 30 minutes can achieve, not to mention the endorphin release of a worthwhile team effort.
As for Sunday....well, let's just leave that alone. A day of rest, or a feed of pints with friends.
Which brings us back to Blue Monday!