It’s Groundhog Day. Again…<\/p>\n
Every year at this time (on 2nd of February to be precise) Groundhog Day happens all over my calendar.<\/p>\n
Which is a terrific coincidence really, as 2nd of February is actually Groundhog Day.<\/p>\n
I know, right?<\/p>\n
Whodathortit?<\/p>\n
The festival (‘Ye Olde Groundhoge Daye Themeparke’, to give it the proper name), was started in 1348 by King Edward III, as a blatant attempt to take the collective mind of the collective public away from the ever so slightly fatal Black Death, which was sweeping the country at the time.<\/p>\n
This fact may not be true.<\/p>\n
King Edward III was an unusual monarch in many respects, not least because he was named after a type of potato.<\/p>\n
This fact may also not be true.<\/p>\n
Ye Olde Groundhoge Daye Themeparke was beset by problems in the early days.<\/p>\n
The architects’ decision to mount the Themeparke on a large pontoon of barges, knitted together by bamboo poles and a heavy chain made out of England’s finest wool was always seen as controversial.<\/p>\n
Filling the River Thames with shoals of flesh-eating octopii may have contributed to the public staying away from the Themeparke in their thousands.<\/p>\n
Especially after one of the barges capsized, and fourteen people were eaten alive.<\/p>\n
These facts may have a slightly tenuous relationship with the truth.<\/p>\n
However, here’s a true fact.<\/p>\n
Those that know me can confirm I have something of a relationship with Groundhog Day (the film).<\/p>\n
I have seen the film a couple of dozen times.<\/p>\n