Shane WATSON

You know winter is over when you’ve got garden panic and an urge for a pedicure, writes Shane Watson

‘Look How Light It Is!” you probably found yourself saying one evening last week. Or maybe “I can’t believe it’s 6.15 and it’s still light!” It always comes as a shock to discover that we have survived another winter, and this winter was, for obvious reasons, longer, darker and lonelier than any in recent memory. Easter may be cancelled. The April holiday in Tuscany may no longer be on the cards. But, right on time, just when we need it most, spring is officially here and happening under our noses.

You remember more or less how it goes:

You get al-fresco happy

You may find yourself sitting outside the back door with a glass of wine tonight, even though it’s far from toasty. By April we’ll be insisting on lighting the barbecue because It’s So Light and really Not That Cold. Put on another jumper! Look how light it is! That’s spring for you – any excuse to take it outdoors.

You are permanently experiencing spring shivers

This is on account of going early with the wafty summery dress, bare legs and thin crocus-coloured cardigan.

This year the Switch to Spring Clothes occurred around the 17th. Note: this shift may coincide with warm temperatures (see last year) but even if there’s a distinct chill in the air, even if you’ve still got the heating on and the winter tog-factor duvet is only just warm enough, one day the switch gets flipped regardless, and that’s it.

Afterwards, your winter coat looks leaden and drab, your boots look like something left over from a skiing holiday and your grey sweaters start to really get you down. Then the wool has to go, and the fur trims, and the black suede, all of it. You want bright white boxfresh trainers. You crave something yellow. Or lilac. Or new grass green. It’s not yet clear r exactly what you want, but it amounts nts to one giant refresh.

You get the grooming itch tch

Couldn’t care less about your r goaty legs and Hagrid hair, and then suddenly you are Gwyneth Paltrow on a TV day. The hibernation haircut t must be dealt with – just as soon as you can get to a hairdresser (April 12, people). ).

You need a polished, blunttended restyle, as much dye slapped on the roots as health and safety fety permits, and a pedicure with h geranium nailpolish (no one is going to be seeing your feet for months but no matter; you’ve ve got the spring itch and that means an n all-over scrub up and reboot).

You get a bodyclock reset set

The clocks go forward in a week’s time, but this is different. This his is the urge to rise an hour earlier, er, rush outside and make the most of everything, including the daffodils. affodils.

Spring is when the healthy y resolutions tend to kick in. Will walk to work. Will eat more fish. Will gargle with mouthwash. h. Will skip. Will fill house with flowers wers and important music.

You get garden pride

Or garden regret for some of f us… Why didn’t we plant the bulbs bs when we were meant to? Because cause this is the season of free flowers wers everywhere you go, on the verges and in the parks. It gives you ideas and gets you dreaming of wild hyacinths and tumbling roses, even if those end up translating as more geraniums in a pot.

You start planning holidays

The jury’s still out on whether we’ll be allowed to go anywhere, but still, spring is in the air, which means we

are having warm holiday thoughts thou and endlessly talking late-in-thelate-inday options, city minibreaks and a long l weekends in Iceland (the new Greece). Gre Spring means sending sendin your friends f links to villas in Turkey T and Airbnbs in Portugal Portuga (off the th red list!) and aerial shots of beaches be eaches in Kefalonia.

The only difference this t time me is, no one says “Let’s Book!” What Whatt you yyou say instead is “Wow…Let’s “Wow Definitely Defin nitely Put That on The List”. Li We’re We’r re raring to go, but we’re getting good d at expectation management. managem

You get Easter fever

What is iis happening at Easter? Is it cancelled cancelled (at least indoors)? Is it going to too be like Christmas 2020, when a starter gun goes off and an you have 12 hours to get to your destination before the net comes down? ? Are we postponing Cheaster until May/June, by which time, to be honest, we’re not going to be that interested in defrosted five-month-old ham turkey?

We can’t leave the Easter issue alone because as soon as spring kicks off Easter plans kick in, that’s just how it goes, even in a pandemic.

Your eye is drawn to adorable knitted bunnies in egg cups, fluffy chicks in boxes and lifesize chocolate cockerels. You are filled with thoughts of big eggs versus mini eggs and roast potatoes or dauphinoise. Since none of us got to do Christmas properly, we are overthinking what Easter could be.

You Yo want to cycle everywhere

Winter is not so much fun for bicycling (not cycling… leisurely upright drifting on wheels), but spring is the perfect season. You are more likely to feel full of the joys of spring when cycling than in any other situation.

You make cold-water plans

Granted, actual wild swimme swimmers are at it year round and don’t hang up their cozzies for the winte winter months, but spring is the best time to start swimming in the sea, if you haven’t before. Also to ta take up cold-water showers, if you we were thinking of that.

You want to paint the house

Not spring-clean the house, notice, because we all threw everything out back in the spring of 2020 and then cleaned like demons every weekend, and although that was a whole year ago there’s honestly nothing left to do. So this year we’re painting. We may even be feeling yellow.