TOWN & COUNTRY
Spring is on its way – and our columnists have a spring in their step
‘It’s a joy to cast off thick tights and thermal bras’
My local bookshop has a new sign in the window – ’Please note; the post-apocalyptic fiction section has been moved to current affairs.’
After the roller-coaster ride of the past two years, it’s hard not to conclude that ‘optimism’ is an eye disease.
But it’s important not to become Eeyore-esque because research proves that optimists live longer than pessimists.
Yep. Apparently, optimism lowers blood pressure and boosts your immune system, which increases longevity. And spring is the perfect springboard for feeling more upbeat.
It starts with the joy of casting off those thick tights and thermal bras. By mid-January, I’m so cold, my breasts start chattering. The fog’s so thick that taking a gulp of air risks chipping a tooth.
By February, I’m usually wondering how long I can hold out before uttering my Titus Oates-esque, ‘I may be gone some time’ wandering-off-into-the-wilderness speech. Speech?
As if. My icy lips are novocained.
But the first sight of golden daffodils heralds the great thaw. Party season approaches, summer holidays are planned, the grey cloud duvet lifts and sunlight streams in. Best of all, girlfriends come out of hibernation and we head off in giggly gaggles to museums and galleries.
In fact, it’s women who are my greatest source of global optimism too. When feeling deflated, it’s young female activists who raise my spirits – like 19-year-old environmentalist Greta Thunberg; Malala Yousafzai and Alaa Salah, who stood up against oppression in Pakistan and Sudan; and Emma ‘X’ González, who survived the Florida Stoneman Douglas High School massacre and is now taking aim at the gun lobby by shooting from the lip.
So, pessimists, take my advice. When looking at your glass, choose the half-full option by remembering this simple mantra – laugh and the world laughs with you; cry… and you get salt in your champers. ✢ Best Laid Plans by Kathy Lette (£16.99, Bantam Press) is out now. @KathyLette
‘Seeing nature do its thing gives me a sense of optimism’
One of the things that raises my spirits in the spring is the stubbornness of nature. No matter how muddy and cold the ground is, those daffodils fight their way through and wave their yellow heads as if they were watching their favourite band at Glastonbury. Tiny purple crocuses – as fragile as fairies – make it out of the earth and stand up to the wind and weather. They don’t care that there are balls of ice raining down on them, it is their moment to shine!
The birds build nests, the squirrels scamper around. They are not hoping for the best, they are assuming that the best will happen. The sun will come out, the biting wind will drop, blossom will appear on trees and the blackbird will sing. If that doesn’t give the rest of us hope, I don’t know what will.
Although I can dig my heels in from time to time, I’m not as stubborn as nature is, but seeing it do its thing does give me a sense of optimism. This is often totally misplaced. I probably won’t lose enough weight so I can wear a bikini in the summer, but just thinking that I might makes me happy.
More often than not, however, optimism is the triumph of hope over experience. While I will get out my favourite floaty dresses in bright colours, I will still be overweight. And yet, encouraged by nature’s dynamic appearance in spite of late snow, howling gales and everything else, I go on thinking that perhaps no one will notice if I wear bright enough jewellery. This is something in my favour. Optimism is officially good for the health. I’m never going to be able to say that I’m training for a half marathon (not even my optimism goes that far), but being able to say that I look on the bright side is something that they can give a great big tick to! After all, good health is in the mind as well as in the body. Let’s all decide to walk on the sunny side of the street.
✢ A Wedding in the Country by Katie Fforde (£14.99, HB, Century) is out now. @KatieFforde