Why This Season is My All Time Favourite…
Finally we have emerged into the light after our slumber in a very dark tunnel. Autumn and winter may have their exciting rituals and festivities, the excuse to eat more and drink more just to keep warm… as well as to practice lots of Hygge. But there really is nothing like that fresh air, hopeful, light feeling of spring with all the new life and promise it brings. Spring is the season to shift our gratitude for the very simplest of blessings up a gear in the sweet realisation that all is infinitely good. After all, after spring comes summer… and the cue to eat ice cream EVERY day.
So here they are in no particular order of importance – The 50 Best Things about Spring! Feel free to add to this with your own:
1: You get woken by the blissful twittering of the birds’ dawn chorus instead of the DURR DURR DURR of your alarm clock.
2: You can ditch the coat and head out with a cardigan. Oh, the freedom.
3: Daffodils!
4: A trip to the garden centre becomes a day out because OMG have you tasted that carrot cake in the cafe? And, of course, you also went there to treat yourself to an olive tree, four hanging baskets and every packet of seeds known to man that has to be planted in April. You will remember to sow them this year… you WILL!
5: Carpets of woodland bluebells and their gorgeous smell. Or just the token one in your excuse for a garden border.
6: The dusting off and first (and probably final) outing of the year of the BBQ.
7: The dusting off of the Birkenstocks.
8: Easter eggs, hot cross buns, Simnel cake, roast lamb with all the trimmings – in other words: a reason to dive into the Easter chapter of your Nigella/Mary Berry/GBBO cookbook, bake up all the treats and then scoff them all because the rest of the family have pigged out on too many chocolate bunnies.
9: Summer holidays NEED to be booked up now. It’s ESSENTIAL! The countdown HAS begun…
10: Lambs bleating and skipping and hopping as you stroll through the countryside/whizz past in your open top car (lambs, please excuse the menu for No. 8).
11: Open top cars get to put their tops down. Which means hairspray (and headscarf) sales go up. Which means…
12: The perfect excuse to go to the hairdressers to get the mop sorted. Well, you know, the sun does show up the roots more, we’ll just have to top up our highlights.
13: Time to re-haul the spring/summer wardrobe with a brand new fabulous purchase or ten. Of course.
14: Picnics in the park on red and white checked rugs with homemade lemonade, smoked salmon and cucumber sandwiches and lashings of jam tart.
15: Afternoon tea – wherever, whenever. Daily, preferably.
16: Time to brush up on the backhand in preparation for Wimbledon. Because then our encouragement (and rants) at the players will sound more qualified, especially in the presence of sporty family and friends.
17: A weekly pedicure at the salon is a MUST. We just can’t have cracked heels on display in our five pairs of new sandals. What a chore…
18: Sometimes we can even get the washing to actually dry on the line!
19: Heating goes off. Bills go down!
20: Strawberries. Almost. If we close our eyes we can just about taste them. With cream. And a dusting of sugar of course. Or maybe even in a smoothie….hmmmm.
21: Festival music prep has to be taken seriously now. Whether we’ll be headed for Glastonbury in a couple of months or not, spring gives us carte blanche to stock up on the latest tunes and to get with the times.
22: An extra half hour in the bath to shave legs and use a body rub. Scented candle, glass of wine and chocolates don’t have to be an optional extra either…
23: Springwatch returns to the BBC! Cos’ we’re all nature boffins at heart.
24: We no longer look weird when we have our sunnies plastered to our heads.
25: In fact, we really should treat ourselves to a brand new pair.
26: Clocks go forward, nights get lighter, outside dining opportunities MUST be taken advantage of. Even in the cold.
27: Our chances of persuading our other halves that we need decking in the garden/a hot tub/a swimming pool/a wooden ‘afternoon tea house’ increase dramatically with every degree centigrade the temperature rises.
28: Weekends are spent lazing in the sunshine and catching up on our ever increasing pile of books.
29: Pimms O’Clock!
30: We add telescope, new patio furniture, power washer, new car, lavender bushes, an orange… and lemon tree and a brand spanking new state of the art BBQ to No.27.
31: If we’re that way inclined… CARAVANS!
32: And if we’re not, well, we can dust off the tent and carry on camping.
33: Outdoor cinemas and romance (sometimes, if we are lucky).
34: Butterflies flutter to and fro making everything pretty and happy-go-lucky in our outdoor worlds.
35: Ice cream parlours re-open. Yippee! But will it be Fior di Latte or Ferrero Rocher, or both?
36: Wedding season officially recommences. To gatecrash or not to gatecrash?
37: Bye bye slippers, hello bare feet and toes, unless you really have to paint them…
38: Spring and summer cocktail parties to arrange. Because we got three cocktail shakers as wedding presents and we still haven’t christened them.
39: Gotta start practicing to win the parents’ race this year at your kids’ sports days. Visualisation techniques of your crowning glory moment need to start now.
40: We’ll soon be about to bare our skin to the sun, so of course it’s absolutely crucial we take advantage of booking into a health spa for luxury facial time… at least twice a month.
41: We simply MUST get that new Cath Kidston picnic set to look picture postcard perfect in No. 14.
42: And on the ice cream subject (just in the interest of saving money and eating homemade only, of course) an ice cream maker. Top of the range really would be best.
43: Swallows start to return from Africa.
44: Baby chicks, lambs, rabbits, piglets and fox cubs abound.
45: Walking. Just walking in the fresh spring sunshine, breathing in the fresh spring air.
46: Spring cleaning. Yes, I normally hate cleaning with a passion. But this is different. A spring clean is a de-clutter of the mind and soul. A fresh start. Out with the old and in with the new.
47: Outdoor lidos and pools will be open soon… and it’ll be just about bearable for us to dip our toes in.
48: Cue: new swimsuit shopping is a necessity. And we’ll tag on some extras. Just because we’re in town…
49: No more S.A.D… unless it’s raining.
50: Only half a year(ish) until Christmas!
Well, I don’t know about you but that was hard work. Time to chill in the garden on my brand new lounger with my brand new Pradas adorning my zingy (post-massage) head – a little Pimms, scones and handmade choc mint ice cream at arm’s length. Just maybe not all at once.
