Yesterday afternoon, I received an e-mail from the Tate Gallery (nice of them to get in touch, I thought) with the subject: The weekend is nearly here!Of course, we totally take for granted that two-day respite between Friday (or, I suppose I should say) TGIF and the inevitable onslaught of that Monday morning feeling.
But whilst Saturday and Sunday have been with us since man first started numbering his days, the weekend has not always been a part of his weekly life.
Back in 1996, when I was one of the regular presenters of BBC Radio 4's Arts Programme, Kaleidoscope, I made a feature exploring the origins of the weekend and how it has developed and been modified over the centuries.
It's all about what you were supposed to do and what you shouldn't do and how, having been invented, the weekend helped shape a nation's habits, sports and entertainments.
It was entitled, quite simply, 'Le Weekend' and if you're not run off your feet, you might like to take a listen...
Thanks, Brian - I look forward to listening to it - hopefully during the weekend.
ReplyDeleteThere is a funny moment in the first season of "Downton Abbey" in which the Dowager Countess (played by Maggie Smith), when confronted with talk of the weekend, looks up from the table confusedly and asks, "What is a weekend?"
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