Now is the time to say goodbye. . . and await sunnier days

WE’VE reached the moment that the Romans celebrated with the Festival of Janus, the two-faced god who managed to look both forwards and backwards at once.

I’ve always thought that was a neat trick, being able to spot who was about to stab you in the back while simultaneously watching for the scything assault from the front.

Or in a rugby World Cup year, probably a spear tackle perpetrated by a brute with no neck wearing black and summoned up from the Underworld.