Life can be a touch unfair to Canadians at times. England had the Beatles, otherwise known as the Fab Four, and we have cold, sleet, hail and snow, otherwise known as Feb. Four. To put it mildly, which is a condition we have not experienced lately, February in this country leaves a lot to be desired and in fact it is not so much a month as it is a nasty surprise.

The Christmas bills have been paid off and nobody in the family has a cold so you have just begun thinking your troubles are behind you when you discover your troubles are not behind you at all, they have just moved into the basement.

That's February.

It is a month devoid of colour and unyielding as a hockey puck and I find it passing strange that despite all the advances made in the health sector, medical science has not come up with a cure for this melancholy month.

There is a kind of cure but it involves strapping yourself into an airplane for several hours and then when you do get to some sunny island you are kept awake all week by the yowlings of crazed Canadians who have discovered they can actually go outside without being frozen solid.

In fairness, it should be pointed out that February has a few positive things in its favour such as the fact it is the shortest month in the year and also at long last it has its very own long weekend.

The general population has greeted this three-day break with enthusiasm but there does seem to be some dissatisfaction with calling the holiday Monday Family Day and I am in complete agreement with that sentiment.

I believe the name should be a reflection of the month itself and the next time I am in Premier McGuinty's office I am going to recommend the holiday should be called Slush Day because February has more of that vile substance than any other month.

Slush is a gooey combination of water and snow and there is absolutely nothing that can be said in its favour. The water is too dirty to drink and too cold to swim in and it lurks unseen in potholes where car tires find it and send it flying through the air and landing all over the clothes you just got back from the dry cleaners. February is so bad it makes March look good and I think we should all hibernate until it is over.