Happy Spring!

It's Easter. And so I doubt if many will be dropping into blogland this week. You will be too busy with chocolate eggs and hot cross buns. Maybe even trimming a bonnet or two. Celebrating the end of winter, greeting the possibilities of spring. It is time to put away the winter woollies and thermal undies, to think about cutting the grass, to plant early potatoes. Climb a hill and savour the view in the fragile spring sunshine; wander in woods and marvel - as we do each year - as trees sprout tiny green buds. The grim days of snow and storms are behind us ...

I know that here in the west we link all this razzmatazz to a Christian festival. Other cultures with comparable climates also have stories to underpin a bit of a knees-up and this time of year. I choose not to comment on any of that, other than to offer good wishes to anyone celebrating as spring arrives, with or without a god to justify a party.

Me - I looking forward to greeting the arrival of spring. Well, that was the plan...

I don't know how it was where you are, but, where I am, anyone strutting down the High Street in an Easter bonnet would have had a hard time hanging onto it. But they'd have hung on if they could, if only to protect their heads from the hail. The days might be a bit longer, but it was so dark around lunchtime I needed lights on just to make a cup of tea. As for abandoning the winter woollies - I lit my wood-burning stove and settled down with a book, just like I do the depths of winter.

I'm certainly not going to abandon my fleeces and waterproofs. Nor venture out to cut my grass just because the calendar tells me it should be spring. Had I even thought about walking I might have been blown off a hillside

So someone clearly forget to tell the weather-fairies that it's time to cheer up. Me - I'll huddle by my fire for a bit longer, till those fairies finally to come out to play. How about you - did you brave the weather and slosh through mud on an Easter egg hunt? Or maybe the weather was kinder where you are.

Happy spring!

Well, Easter is nearly here.

I know, that's stating the obvious. You can't move in the shops for eggs and chocolate rabbits and hot cross buns. The children are home from school - and fill the streets with scooters and bikes and laughter. The town's noticeboards are full of invitations to Easter fêtes and bonnet-making and suchlike.

Easter means different things to different people. For some it is much more than a holiday - it has spiritual significance that goes far beyond the razzmatazz of parades and bonnets. Like Christmas, your celebrations seem to be drowned in all the glitz. I hope you find the peace you need for your reflections.

For me - it's a holiday. Time to doss about, play, sit in the garden, maybe drink a little wine. Friends and family will call. If the sun shines I might walk a little. If it's cold and wet, I've a woodburner and books. And so I'm taking a short blog-break - just a week or two. Battery-recharging time.

But when I come back - I might have News. After all, I've not been idle since I got home from Cuba. And that manuscript is beginning to fester ...

Easter is somewhere, just round the corner.

I know - it feels impossible, doesn't it, that it's the season of bunnies and daffodils while in reality we're huddled by the fireside in our thermal vests. (I'm writing of friends in the UK here - please, if you are somewhere hot and sunny, tell us. It's such a long time since we've been warm that we've forgotten what it feels like.)

But, foul weather or not, the shops are full of chocolate, schools are breaking up, offices shutting down for a few days, and families finding time to play together.

And I, too, will take a few days off. So this is my last post until after Easter.

For the committed Christian, this is, of course, a festival of hope and renewal. May it bring you joy. For those of other faiths, or none - well, we can have fun too. Let's hope the sun shines on us all (at last), and we can savour precious time with those we love. I shall eat cake, and think of you all.