Spring has sprung
Ah, spring. Daffodils in the garden (finally). A touch of sun on the skin. And lunch at Truckles.
Time was, I could tell the instant spring arrived because the air smelt different: greener. Brighter. But that was in Cape Town, and since moving to the Big Smoke, I’ve had to learn new ways to read the changing seasons.
Let’s be clear. I’m not talking about the calendar; 21 March means nothing to me. (Well no, it means “five days till my birthday!”, but that’s not the point.) And I’m not talking about the daffodils — yellow splashes are all very well but they completely fail to lift the gloom that six months of grey dankness soak into me. No, I’m talking about Truckles.
Truckles is a little sun trap near the office: a wine bar stuck in an enclosed terrace, blocking out the wind but basking in the sun. On a day of even moderate temperature, you can sit there with a glass of wine and imagine you’re on holiday far, far away from London. Makes it a bit hard to drag yourself back to the office, but while that lunch break lasts (maybe a leeetle bit longer than it should, teknikly), it is heaven.
And today was the first Truckles day of the year. I guess it might have come earlier, but I was sick, wasn’t I. So today I headed back to the office, and the sun was out, and it was a Truckles day. Spring is officially here.
Your turn. How do you know it’s spring?
9 comments:
Any day the temperature stays under 86F/30C - it's spring. Otherwise, summer.
A day with humidity under 86% might qualify as well.
So you don't do autumn or winter, then?
Also: bastard. (Said in the friendliest possible spirit.)
Spring is official when the first successful picnic/braai has been negotiated. For us, it was Good Friday at Warwick Castle, with sunny skies, peacocks, swans, outdoor food and general high spirits.
A good rule. We're starting to think braai time ourselves. Warwick Castle is rather groovy, isn't it?
The sneezing. Those days when the birds are shining, the sun is singing in the trees, blossoms gently float on warm zephyrs... and I'm watching it all through sneeze-teary eyes, single-handedly supporting the Kleenex and anti-hayfever drug empires, and muttering, 'Bloody bastard buggery spring...' over and over again.
Oh, sorry - that was supposed to be a cheerful, whimsical kinda question, wasn't it? ;-)
(I am enjoying my Aussie autumn, btw. It's cool enough for woolly socks and my purple duffle coat in the morning, warm enough for lunch in the heartwarming sunshine in the afternoon... and a good excuse for far, far too much hot chocolate in front of the heater at night. Mmmm.)
When all the Cape Town oaks start getting that misty green look from the new leaves. (They do it, in defiance of probability, overnight).
Thass right. They do do it overnight. Being used to the suddenness of a Saffrican spring makes the incredibly slow, ponderous, downright teasing onset of London spring almost unbearable. "Oh look!" you think one day, "there are little green buds on the trees! Can summer be that far away?" A month later you're starting to shout at the damn trees for not growing their tiny little green buds any faster.
Prowl: I feel you. I used to get terrible hayfever. Not quire sure how I've escaped that torment in my later years, but mighty glad I am of the relief. Also, autumn is great. I shouldn't enjoy it that much, not being a winter person at ALL, but I really do. Hot chocolate and boots. Mmmm.
Not the daffodils. Not the tulips. Not the cherry blossoms. Not even the frogly chorus of an evening down by the duckpond. All of those are really, really nice, and lift my spirits in anticipation. What works for me is something about the quality of warmth from the sun. Simon and I had picnic lunch outside two days ago, while Sarah was having her nap. The warmth of the sun actually soaked through to my poor, grey bones*. Spring at last! :).
*The chirping, twittering birds and green, green grass also helped with the atmosphere.
A most excellent point. Sun you can't feel: winter. Sun you can: spring.
Need more of that. I heard dangerous rumours about a heat wave this weekend, but in fact, all is cold and grey. :(
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