Sir, - Two years ago I campaigned to have the month of January moved from its present position in the calendar and reunited with the other `J' months, June and July, in order to shorten the winter and lengthen the summer.
To my surprise this campaign met with little success. I now know why. Greater minds than mine had obviously become aware that summer, as we once knew it, was becoming extinct, so there was little point in uprooting January unnecessarily. I abandoned that campaign, but you will be glad to know that I have now embarked upon another.
Because of the fact that we now no longer have summers in Ireland, we should not use the word in relation to the seasons here. If we continue to use the word "summer", visitors might, not unreasonably, assume that weather conditions in Ireland at certain times of the year would be similar to those in their native lands.
Obviously the disappointment resulting from this misunderstanding could result in the State becoming involved in endless litigation and/or Tribunals of Enquiry, as dissatisfied tourists sought compensation for their disappointment.
I therefore propose that the season between Spring and Autumn be known as Midyear - an amalgamation of the words "Middle-months-of-the-year". If anybody would like to join me, we could try this out ourselves for a while, and if it proved popular, the rest of Ireland could then join in. What do you think? - Yours, etc., Miranda Moriarty,
Gorey,
Co. Wexford.