April - easy reading

In April, the days are longer and the evenings are lighter, partly because the clocks go forward an hour at the end of March. It’s now British Summer Time (BST). The weather is usually warmer and some years there is quite a lot of rain. Everything grows quickly in the garden.

The first day in April is April Fools’ Day. This is a day when people can play jokes or tricks on people. There is often a story in the newspaper which is not true but it’s a joke. In 1957, there was a story on BBC TV about spaghetti trees in Switzerland and a lot of people believed it!

Easter is often in April but it can be in March too. (I’ll write a separate post about Easter.) The children have two weeks’ holiday from school. The Boat Race usually takes place in April. This is a rowing race between teams from Cambridge and Oxford universities, usually on the River Thames in London.

April 23rd is Saint George’s Day but it isn’t a holiday and isn’t celebrated much nowadays. Saint George is the patron saint of England. This day might be the birthday of William Shakespeare, although nobody knows the exact date. He also died on this day in 1616, aged 52.