Botheration! I missed it

and there won't be another coming along until Christmas.  That, of course, is one of the downsides of retirement - one day is very much like the one before and the one after.  Unless one of those days is a special red-letter day like Christmas or the day of the chiropodist's visit.  All this means that bank holidays come and bank holidays go without any way of marking them as special except noting that the builder's van down the street hasn't moved this morning and my word the post is late today but of course there is no post today as it's a bank holiday.

Monday was one such - and it was Tuesday evening before I realised.  The August bank holiday used to be on the first Monday of August but for some reason I've forgotten (if I ever knew in the first place) it was moved years and years ago to the last Monday.  And I don't think it's called the August bank holiday any more.  I think it might be the Late Summer Holiday or some such.

But whatever it's called, it's the last bank holiday in England (and Wales and Scotland and - I think - Northern Ireland) until Christmas.  It's not like that in other countries.  Spain, in common with many other countries, marks All Saints' Day on 1 November by making it a holiday.  In Belgium, France and Poland Remembrance Day - 11 November - is a holiday.  In fact, as far as I can see the only other European countries that go longer than us without a bank or public holiday are Denmark and the Netherlands.

I find it interesting, too, to see the number of days marked as public holidays in the various countries:

Australia - 10
Belgium - 10
France - 9
Germany - 14
Japan - 17
South Africa - 12
USA - 12
England - 8

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I have not managed to get out to take any new photos for some time so am foisting these repeats on you.  Today I continue with the bridge series and here is perhaps the world's most famous broken bridge, Pont Saint-Bénezet in Avignon.  Broken by floods in 1668, it has become known as the bridge where all the world dances (according to the song).