Hardly had we managed to extract the last Christmas tree needle from the hearthrug and gasped through the dark days of Dry January than the pancakes were tossed and it was vale to carne for the six weeks of Lent running up to an early Easter. It all came in a bit of a rush. Wouldn’t it be more sensible to have Easter on the same date every year, like Christmas?

That’s what the Archbishop of Canterbury wants, not just for the Church of England, but for the world. He’s had talks about it with the Pope and with Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Church. Surprisingly, they all seem in favour, but I bet it won’t come to anything, and I really don’t think it should.