It’s Laetare Sunday.

Better known as Mother’s Day. But for centuries, Laetare Sunday was the Sunday half-way through Lent, the day on which mothers were brought gifts by their children and everyone was excused their Lenten obligations. American greetings cards companies then co-opted the tradition of Laetare Sunday and re-packaged it for profit, but I’m glad that they did. I so wish my mum was still around so I could make a fuss of her today, even though it meant a trip to the off licence rather than the florist. I miss her pearls of wisdom like “There are no pockets in a shroud”. “Never lend what you can’t afford to give” and “Only a fool thinks the Old Bill are stupid”. I know – not the soft, soothing advice normally associated with mothers but in my case, this really was what “Mama used to say”