Opening lines

Bank Holiday Mondays: Normally a day when we commemorate all that the banks have done for the country, by staying out of work. The June Bank Holiday is different.

Its origins go back much further than that. In pre-Christian Times, the first weekend in June was marked by the huge pagan feast of Divestianalia.

It was in celebration the moment when mammies said the weather was warm enough to go without a vest.

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