Nicholas Craig column

Aug 18 2006 By Nicholas Craig, The Journal

August has been a month of disrupted holidays for many of us flying from the region.

On our return from a foreshortened annual break thanks to airport chaos, crowds and cancelled flights, we will be racing towards September, fighting off post-holiday blues and facing 117 days between August bank holiday and Christmas.

High time to reinstate my campaign for an extra bank holiday. Ideally it should take place in October. I believe legislation should be rushed through this year as some sort of recompense for the hours of tedium holding a clear plastic bag at the start of a break this August.

It isn't just that the UK has fewer bank holidays than much of Europe, but that in true bus fashion you see none for months then three come along together. A clutch of holidays in May welcomes in summer in style, but we could continue the celebrations throughout the seasons. Autumn offers the best opportunity to grab a long weekend far away from airports and appreciate a bit of mellow fruitfulness.

Not everyone agrees. The CBI believes an extra bank holiday could hurt the economy. Surely it would benefit the retail, tourism and leisure sectors? It would also give a boost to workers who, according to a University of Manchester professor of psychology, Cary Cooper, are a pretty miserable lot around September time.

Mr Cooper says that the majority of returning employees estimate their stress levels are back to pre-holiday highs within a week of returning to work. A Monday morning after a holiday can be a cause for even greater depression, with two-thirds of us dreading its arrival. Productivity rises after a short break. All the more reason for introducing one special Monday morning to savour as the days get shorter.

Gordon Brown suggested the idea of a British national day holiday earlier this year. If that doesn't find favour with government, perhaps we could introduce the idea of regionalism into bank holidays. We could have a George Stephenson or Earl Grey Day, for example, to celebrate local heroes. There are more than enough to choose from, and we could toast their contribution to the region during the commemorative day.

Whether or not the campaign gathers momentum, let's ensure we enjoy those bank holidays we have already. Only a couple of hundred years ago we had none!

* Nicholas Craig is a partner at Watson Burton law firm