As there was no movement on the London stockmarket this morning, I checked the World Wide Web for British public holidays. Thus I learned that today is the Summer Bank Holiday. Lovely. In early June there is another such with an equally suitable name: Spring Bank Holiday. In addition to a few religious holidays, such as Easter and Christmas, this is it in Britain. Lovely, indeed. This is something I have always appreciated about the country. No-bullshit holidays, that is. Every now and then, people need to rest for a few days. Holidays are thus attached to several well-spaced weekends. And that is all there is to it. No birthdays. No victories, let alone defeats. And no celebrations of any kind. Just bank holidays, when banks, the lynchpins of civilized life, are closed. Would that other civilized countries followed this glorious example.