It was a complex week for public holiday lovers Down Under.
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Australia's national day of mourning for QEll fell on Thursday, tantalisingly close to the weekend and had a lot people wondering what the hell Prime Minister Albanese was thinking?
Why not call it Friday and establish himself as the most popular Australian leader since Bob Hawke. Instead, workers had to take the Thursday off, then chance a sickie on Friday, roll into a four day long weekend and springboard into the school holidays? In NSW at least.
Victorians already had Friday off for the AFL grand final. And with the Swannies in the GF perhaps NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet could have followed suit to sort out his public transport issues.
Meanwhile WA has Monday off for their freshly flipped Kings Birthday long weekend (formerly the Queen's). Very pre-emptive from the Sandgropers, given Charles was born in November. Makes sense though seeing the Queen was born in April and NSW celebrates it in June. I just hope we hold onto that June long weekend and get a new one for the King. That would be an instant boost for his popularity.
Meanwhile, New South Welsh people have to wait 11 days before our next long weekend - Labour Day - which WA celebrates in March. And yes it does get confusing, but let's not sound too critical of the West, lest they secede.
All up, the one-off Thursday public holiday provided many talking points, some potentially bitter, for those who fronted up to work on Friday, in NSW at least. But the PM's call for a national day of mourning three days after the Queen's funeral was by the book. Was that the Magna Carta?
It simultaneously appeased monarchists who wanted to see our subjectivity to the crown confirmed by whingeing retailers across the country. While at the same time appealing to the wider royal agnostic community who'll take any day off they can get.
We'd already missed several golden opportunities this year to mourn someone of true national relevance, with the passing of Warnie, and Livvie, and now naughty John Hamblin from Play School has passed beyond the round window too.
The holiday was meant for contemplation. But not of republics or the relevancy of the British monarchy or reparations for the impacts of imperialism. That will come in due course if certain former colonies keep contemplating hard enough.
Instead, many of us contemplated the work roster and how to swing some recovery time from the live funeral coverage last Monday. Of course there was a lot of genuine love in the room for Lizzie, and no one begrudged a bit of pomp and ceremony over in London.
But whether Australians sat glued to their TV through it all was a matter entirely up to the individual, and their tolerance for ... 'Boredom' might not be the right word. Actually, it wasn't far off the mark.
History in the making, and gripping TV if you define that as gripping the remote and trying to change the channel.
