Lent, it's a catholic thing

Well-not really, as I know at least one (for want of a better term) non catholic who does the lent thing. Oh if you have ignored the heading that opening will mean nothing to you-which actually might be an advantage for yous.

Sooooo it’s that time again –the whole self sacrifice that it is “our duty” to carry out /endure/enjoy whichever way you see it. Despite being a very weak catholic I take the lent thing very seriously-I’ve been told that pubs are very empty during this period as so many people give up the drink. Sometimes I would make it tough-not because I enjoy the suffering I see it as a challenge to test my will power.

I actually see lent as a man made thing to help us give our failed new year’s resolution a second go-why not? Makes sense,it usually starts in February-good time as any to have another bash.

For anyone who does not know about lent-it is a six week period up to easter. Something to do with the 40 days and 40 nights Jesus spent in the desert, Oh when I was a kiddie I was always taught to bow my head when I say the word jesus-so if you see somebody bang his head,foot,drop a cup and they scream “JESUS!” and they bow their heads, chances are they’re catholic. The lent period starts with Ash Wednesday-were we more or less acknowledge we started as ashes (so much for my biology lessons) and we return to ashes.It ends with Easter –where we acknowledge that Cadburys are ripping us off again-crummy selection boxes at Christmas and now easter eggs-filled with the sweets we leave to the end at Christmas. Naw-course not –it’s the whole resurrection thing innit? This whole 40 days/nights thing is a kind of mistranslation as far as I know the original translation was “a long time” sooo jesus’s fasting time in desert could have been 4 or 24 hours. And the great flood could have been 100 years.

I usually go off :-sweets (candies) biscuits (cookies) crisps(potato chips) and sometimes chips (fries). See how I cater for my friends in USA-I’m bilingual. This I am also including coconut fingers, turnovers, coffee and maybe Facebook. One year I decided to go off meat-and it proved really hard, I even had nightmares at the start. I remember one where a particularly attractive girl form a car avert came up to me with plate which had a big juicy steak and golden brown chips and  said (in her sexy French accent) “Gérard-you can have this-or you can have me-choose.” And I said “No competition Nicolé.” And grabbed the plate and ran off to a table.

One year when I went off the sweets I manage to stay off them for 3 years.

In Ireland we have a tradition were we can “break the lent” on St Patrick’s day-I mean we HAVE to drown the shamrock-don’t we? I don’t do this,this is for wimps I say. Some people will argue that jafa cakes are not biscuits,crisps are not sweets and find many other excuses to –for want of a better term-bend the rules.Which is why I specify what I am off. I remember as a kiddie my mother told us that Sundays were not lent-I remember at the stroke of midnight on Saturday night my sisters would get stuck into the sweets they had be hoarding all week, and spend most of Sunday munching on their hoard.

A woman at work goes to mass every morning before coming into work-and would always try to encourage me to do this-but this is bringing religion into lent-can’t have that. What next? They’ll be make a religious thing out of easter and Christmas next.

I might do a report on the lent thing-the coffee thing could be a struggle as I treat myself to a coffee on a Friday-part of my Friday treat thing I do. I might bend the rules and check in on face book on saint Patrick’s day for 5 minutes. To see if I missed anything-or not. Munching my final packet of crisps as a type this-unfortunately could not get my beloved red tayto-had to make do with a very close 2^nd best.So off we go




http://youtu.be/jDe9rvQRHEI

to think it i rejected her for a plate of steak and chips