Well, and what have you been giving up for Lent?

Who keeps Lent now? Lenctentid was the Anglo-Saxon name for March, meaning spring tide, and as the 40-day fast fell almost entirely in March, it was called Lent, though in other Christian countries it had quite different names. The odd thing about Lent is that though it is a period of gloom and sorrow, commemorating Christ’s sojourn in the wilderness when he prepared himself to sacrifice his life, the days are lengthening all the time as the grip of winter is relaxed, so we ought to feel a lightness of heart. But this Lent the icy east wind has been so persistent that we have not felt the warm breath of spring at all.

When I was a child Lent was taken very seriously indeed. On Wednesdays and Fridays there was no meat or even fish, as a rule, and only one frugal meal. ‘I’m hungry,’ said I. ‘Of course you are.