Spring has appeared and about time too...
Fof
mine OR those who are truly optimistic it may even be time to dust off a pair of shorts and strike out into the country side. It is at its finest in spring. And after a late start there seem to be plenty of daffodils on verges and available in supermarkets.
M e a n w h i l e gardeners ( I do not count myself among them) have plenty to do even if that means only going to the garden centre and working out whether it is too early to plant the runner beans ( I understand that it is). I’m more of a stroller than a gardener and nobody who takes the time for a stroll in spring feels worse than they did before.
And that is just what it is likely to be, a stroll, because as the weather improves so the pace of life begins to slow, not exactly in a Mediterranean siesta- in- the- afternoon sort of way. But it slows nonetheless.
Our sports grow more sedate as the rugby and football seasons near their climax and cricketers emerge from winter hibernation to once again take over our parks and greens with the leisurely thwack of leather on willow. In a world of burnout and stress spring also heralds the final countdown to that richly deserved summer holiday. With Easter out of the way the two- week holiday is the next thing for most people to look forward to. By now lots of Brits, I am certainly one of them, will already have calculated the months, weeks and days until we get a chance to relax properly.
And it has become so much easier to get up in the morning.
When on the other side of the bedroom window is a sunny sky and birdsong instead of slanting rain and a biting wind, leaving the comfort of bed is no longer the torment it was a few weeks ago. And since the clocks went forward and the evenings began to lengthen we really get to make the most of it.
Perhaps the best thing about spring is not spring itself but rather what follows it. Autumn is wonderful but always tinged by the winter to come.
With spring there is no such sting in the tail, only summer following hot on its heels. We can almost taste the ice creams.
It is a British thing that at the first sign of warmth we flood to parks and beaches and cram ourselves together wherever the sun breaks through.
We may not be bulk- buying sun cream yet but there is more than enough sunshine to lift the spirits. These sun- seekers are absolutely right to make the most of the opportunity.
We’ve had for it.
to
FERGUS KELLY IS AWAY
wait
long
enough