snapshots from suburbia

Thursday 8.20am The eldest calls me on my mobile. It's an inopportune moment since I was trying to creep into my own bedroom without waking the wife, attempting to give her a lie in and all that. Besides this the eldest only left the house ten minutes ago.

Of course it's an important call; she wants to know how long Lent lasts. 'Until Easter Sunday' I tell her (quietly). 'Yes, but how long is that?' Naturally I have no idea, anywhere between 5 and 7 weeks is my best guess but Easter has been an ongoing issue in my household since I've been perpetually confused by the school Easter holiday break, which appears to start a week too early.

For those who are unaware, the school break runs two weeks up to Good Friday and they go back on the Tuesday after the bank holiday. It seems weird to me, particularly as they're then all off on the Friday for the Royal Wedding - consequently they have two weeks (and a day) off then go back for two days before having another day off. Had it started the week up to Good Friday then the two weeks straight would've included 3 Bank Holidays and given us the opportunity for a decent break without missing school time. It still bothers me, and I've known about it for months now.

The eldest seems sure that Lent is 40 days and nights; I suspect she's getting confused with St Swithun's Day and the rain that's supposed to follow it. My mum was obsessed with this folklore last year. I still have no idea why Lent is so important to my daughter, other than the fact that I've tended to observe it with some avoidance or other (generally chocolate) despite having no religious beliefs. My daughter finds this amusing and pointless.

I know I have no religion as I'd started to complete the obligatory census form which dropped through my letterbox a few days ago and had already ticked the no religion box. I'm part-way through completion - struggling with questions like 'how well do you speak English' which could be a matter of opinion - when I note that it's meant to be a record of the population on the night of March 27th. Consequently if I drop dead prior to that date then the family are going to have the trouble of asking for a new form, on top of the other troubles they may have to consider - like finding someone else to ask how long Lent is.