Just another one of those ‘days’.

One of my earliest memories is of being given an old flower pot and a small onion by my teacher and being instructed to put the ‘onion’ in the pot and cover it with earth. She said that this would make a nice surprise for my mother on Mothering Sunday.

At the time I was a bit puzzled by this, until she explained that the onion was actually a flower bulb, which in a few weeks would produce a lovely yellow daffodil.

My pot stood on the classroom windowsill along with those of my classmates until, sure enough, just before the big day it ‘blossomed’ into a drooping little plant which I proudly carried home to my mum.

Now we have MOTHER’S DAY ! … Yet another import from our friends ’across the pond’.

Don’t get me wrong, for I’m all in favour of honouring our mothers. I would just prefer for it still to be done in the traditional British way, with children visiting their mothers with a simple gift of flowers, or perhaps a home made card.

Once again, I believe that ‘Mothering Sunday’ was once a religious festival which had nothing to do with ‘mothers’. It was in fact to do with visiting your ‘mother church’ on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

It’s now the third Sunday before Easter, and the florists, confectioners, greetings card manufacturers and all the rest are rubbing their hands as they  start counting their profits.

How long do you think it will take them to realize that in the USA ‘Mother’s Day’ is celebrated on the second Sunday in MAY ?

Blimey ! If they re-stock the shops with their surplus mummy’s day ’tat’ immediately after they have cashed in on Easter, they can ’take two bites at the cherry’.

I’m now off to visit my daughter and enjoy a (Mothering) Sunday lunch and family gathering, where I shall make certain I remind everyone that …

…    it’s only 15 weeks ’til bloody ‘Father’s Day’ !