Good luck to any accountants who, like TS, have been trying to contact government departments this afternoon. Maundy Thursday is a half-day for civil servants.

If only all of us were quite so lucky. Anyone trying to resolve a tax issue or, er, contact the press office, will just have to wait until after Easter, it seems.

We would tell you more about the holiday - how long has it been around? Has it survived two world wars as well as the Gershon review?

Unfortunately, for fairly obvious reasons, we couldn't contact anyone in government to ask them about it.

Our contact at the Treasury (or rather, on his way home from the Treasury), says in slightly disgruntled fashion that, amidst the onslaught on pensions, this is 'one of the few perks left.'

How gutted must they have been that yesterday’s strike was called off. It would have left them with practically a very nice, and very long weekend.