35-hour/4-day week

[biffvernon]

Hmm, it's a question of abandoning the English god, Woden

or the more warlike Norse god Tiw


With a six-day week the Germanic Mittwoch, Finnish Keskiviikko and Icelandic Miðvikudagur all become surplus as there is no middle day to the even number of days in the week.

I rather like Woden, but I can see the argument from other nations. We'll need an international conference, perhaps in Copenhagen.

[RenewableCandy]

Temptation to register as "Pagan" in the 2011 census and demand Wednesdays orf...

(of course, that presupposes someone sees fit to employ me in the forseeable!)

[biffvernon]

I was a Jedi last census time

[RenewableCandy]

Yeah me too!

[eatyourveg]

I was a Sheddist. I still am, of all the current religions, I feel it has most to offer the prepper.

[RenewableCandy]

Sheddist

Please enlighten us

[eatyourveg]

Sheddist

Please enlighten us

It goes roughly like this:

'It has been said that a shed is to a man what a handbag is to a woman - both contain all the essentials for surviving in the modern world and in the same way that no decent man would ever consider looking in a woman's handbag uninvited, so no reasonable woman would dream of setting foot in a man's shed. This book is a study of over 40 men and their sheds around the UK, a quirky look at the personalities and the passions hidden within the shed, whether it is used for eccentric inventions, as a chapel, a housing for a milk bottle collection, an allotment shed, a home for exotic reptiles or a place to make music. The fascinating story of each bloke and his shed is accompanied by photographs of the inner sanctum and of the customized exteriors.'

There are none of the usual problems with a religion because you don't actually have to believe in much, you just have to like sheds. And as everybody knows, in times of need a shed has more to offer than an ordinary deity and is considerably less demanding - just the odd coat of creosote is fine.

edit - forgot to add this link, the publication of this book elevated sheddism from a minority religion to a force to be reckoned with:

http://www.DODGY TAX AVOIDERS.co.uk/Men-Sheds-Gordo ... 1843303299

[biffvernon]

Ok, I'm going to convert. But it needs to inclusive of women. One of the best sheds I know is owned by a woman that her husband never enters.

[eatyourveg]

Ok, I'm going to convert. But it needs to inclusive of women. One of the best sheds I know is owned by a woman that her husband never enters.

Biff, it's called a kitchen. Sheds are different.

[DominicJ]

Biff, it's called a kitchen. Sheds are different."

[Vortex]

We're Mercian.

[the_lyniezian]

lyniezian, I dont think removal of services was the OPs thoughts...most companies can arrange cover by colleagues, so there is not a 'only open for four days' scenario.

I seemed to get the impression that the scenario only works for 4-day opening, but I do not think there is any mandate for commercial services to use it. I am saying it only really works for office workers, not public services. Obviously things like hospitals, emergency services, people who grit the roads etc. are not the ones who ought to be affected.

Sunday openining...where are you living m8. Virtually everything is open Sunday in the UK. Currently people have 2 days off work a week (generalisation)...and for a lot of them that means Saturday and Sunday. So when to do the nessecities{spelling!} (shopping, finance, entertainment etc)?

I live in Stockton-on-Tees- not as you might be expecting somewhere like the Isle of Lewis. Around here a lot of things are open on a Sunday... if they happen to be a shop. I am talking about libraries, and as far as I am aware only a couple or so are open on a Sunday, and the rest are closed. Some only do half-day Saturday, too.

Sunday is a must have, unless you want a god-squad shut down.

Well, if we are going to keep up any pretence of our being a Christian country, we should reflect Christian values. In that context I'd agree.

Plus I think a lot of people at least call themselves Chrsitans, and not a few can't get to church as they are made to work Sundays.

Oh, or do you mean that every thing must be closed but you want to eat, grab an icecream, have a drink, put juice in the car, go to the cinema et all. In other words, 'poor' non believing peeps work Sundays in order for believers to have a day of rest? Or perhaps you are really off the rails and believe that society en masse should spend the day augmenting their bible knowledge?

I'd have thought someone on this forum would know better. Most of what you are describing is the direct result of mass consumerism, not of "necessities". Years ago, people didn't even have fridges to put their fod in, and yet managed to eat on Sundays without having to nip to the shops. And I am not talking well outside of living memory either. Beyond food there is nothing much essential. I am not saying no TV and radio to keep us entertained, so make allowances for that. As for the rest, nowadays we have the internet to do all our shopping and banking and whatnot. We actually have fridges and freezers to store food in, too. And the car is not going to be short of petrol if you fill it up Saturday.

Anyway, I was mainly on about libraries. Not food shops and petrol stations which might be considered essential- you could justify them too. Getting books is not a major facet of survival.

The few exceptions I'd definitely see are Jews and Seventh-Day Adventists, if one is to justify Sunday opening, since Saturday is the day for them.

If one is really set against the idea of going to church on Sunday, at least consider one day a week with no consumerism is likely a good idea, and likely to cut down on our use of oil and our carbon footprints...

And as for working till 8pm...are you with us on this planet? What about all the services that run through the evening and night? Libraries - jee. Our Uni Library is open 'till 10pm and even later as deadlines for dissertations approach. Our edit suites and studios close normally at 9pm but run 24/7 as deadlines approach. Sorry lyniezian but you need to get out more. Enough. I could rant on.

University libraries need to be open late for the benefit of lots of (theoretically at least!) hard-working students. Public libraries are more likely to be open for the benefit of the old lady who wants to read a novel by so-and-so. Most public libraries here are open 'til 7, some 8. My old uni. library stayed open 'til midnight weekdays.

[RenewableCandy]

If one is really set against the idea of going to church on Sunday, at least consider one day a week with no consumerism is likely a good idea, and likely to cut down on our use of oil and our carbon footprints...

I'll drink to that! My ideal Sunday is doing something public-spirited (they do treeplanting sessions once a month not far from here) or campaigning (Green Party stalls) and we often do our weekly "veggie-day" on a Sunday. But in the days when we were both working, a total Sunday shutdown would have been a heck of a pain.

[Ludwig]

I voted NO.

The relativly few do-ers in this world need to be allowed to work as much as they like.

(Yes, yes, it's that A-type personality argument yet again).

Work all you like, as long as you don't insist on getting paid for all of it

I'm a do-er. I read, swim, kayak, write, walk, maintain a Web site. However, I don't regard it as my God-given right to get paid for it all. (Currently, at long last, I am being paid for spending 8 hours a day in an office, so I qualify as a do-er on that front as well )

[fifthcolumn]

Wow. The same failed ideas of the 1970s come back to haunt us.
Bring back constant strikes, power cuts, bin lorry strikes etc

Oh wait....