Forget England… Tomorrow is Tynwald Day
While millions across the UK will be staying up until the early hours to watch England take on Mexico in the World Cup, before inevitably regretting it when their alarm goes off for work on Monday morning, we Manxies have got it all worked out.
Yes, there may well be a few sore heads on the island tomorrow after cheering on the Three Lions until around 3am, but thankfully there’s no work to worry about because it’s Tynwald Day.
That said, proper Manxies won’t be risking a hangover or an all-nighter.
They’ll be tucked up in bed nice and early, getting a solid night’s sleep ahead of the biggest day in the Manx calendar.
After all, you’ve got to be well rested if you’re going to spend the day asking the two most important questions in St John’s:
‘Can you actually hear what they’re saying?’ and ‘Who’s that in the funny hat?’.
Proceedings kick off in the morning with the traditional parade, featuring schoolchildren proudly carrying banners.
There’ll be plenty of music, plenty of uniforms and plenty of people pretending they definitely know exactly what’s happening.
Meanwhile, lurking nearby will be the annual collection of petitioners, all hoping to catch the attention of the powers that be. Some have spent months preparing heartfelt pleas (Trevor Cowin we are looking at you). Others have just remembered something that’s annoyed them since 1998.
The Lieutenant Governor will make his grand arrival before the procession heads towards Tynwald Hill in what remains the world’s most formal group walk.
Once everyone is in position, the laws passed over the last year will be proclaimed to the people in both Manx and English, proving once again that there are few things more thrilling than listening to legislation being read aloud on a grassy mound.
Petitions of grievance will then be presented, giving Manx residents the opportunity to politely tell the government exactly what’s winding them up. If Facebook is anything to go by, this could take a while.
After the formalities, attention naturally turns to what Tynwald Day is really about: wandering around the stalls, bumping into everyone you’ve ever met, buying something you absolutely didn’t need and convincing yourself that £9 for a burger is acceptable because it’s a bank holiday.
By mid-afternoon you’ll have somehow spent £40, picked up three free leaflets you’ll never read and been caught in the background of at least two live interviews.
It’s tradition.
So while the UK faces the Monday blues, we’ll be celebrating more than 1,000 years of parliamentary history… and trying to remember where we parked.
Have a good Tynwald Day folks.
