May 1. Day 121. May Day

May Day 2013 - the dawn of a new era. For as long as I can remember - actually for far, far longer than I can remember because it goes back to 1891 - Labour Day has been celebrated in Queensland in May. So right now I would normally be getting to celebrate International Workers Day with a public holiday next Monday. I rather like the irony in that. Celebrate work with a day off. But not this year. This year, May Day will be celebrated in October. Try getting your head around that. And just to complicate things, the holiday is in October but the march through the street will go ahead, as it has always done, in May.
While I'll take a public holiday whenever anyone cares to give me one, I find the whole public holiday debacle we have been living through in Queensland to be a sad reflection of what I hate most about politics. So much of it is partisan without any good reason for being so. Always blame the former government, never credit the opposition with a good idea etc, etc
So someone decided we have too many public holidays in the first half of the year and one must be moved.
The Labor Government  - less aligned with the Monarchy - moves the Queens Birthday holiday from June to October. But before we can get that into out heads there's a change of government and a change of public holiday.
The Queen - whose actual birthday is in April - goes back to having her celebration in June where it has always been.
The new conservative government - less aligned with the workers - decides the holiday best able to be moved is the Labour Day one, no matter that it has more than a century long association with May Day.
It is all so petty.
But what it all means for an average worker like myself waking up in Brisbane on this May Day is that there is no public holiday next Monday. Hi, ho. Hi,.ho. It's back to work I go.
But come October, there's every chance I'll be celebrating.