And so it was spring

I saw lambs at the weekend. Some of them were very small and clearly hadn’t been out and about for many days. The garlic has its leaves up and the blackbirds have started singing fairly reliably at the end of the day.

After what has felt like an impossibly long and grey winter, there is finally sun. It’s still cold here, but not as cold as it has been.

I’m not experiencing a rush of energy or enthusiasm. I’m feeling relief – to a mild degree. I crave light and warmth, but I don’t know how much difference that will make when I’m also craving peace, economic sanity and responsible leadership. Here in the UK things are grim. Killing people with the cold, with hunger, with poverty isn’t quite as dramatic as killing them with bombs. I grieve for the people of Ukraine, but I live in a country where class war is killing people every day and no one is going to send us arms to fight back.

Fewer people will die when it gets warmer. We can have the windows open and improve our chances of not getting covid. Spring offers some relief, but not enough.