I have a tendency to rant here. And I’m not a ranty person as a rule.
But I never forget what a privilege it is to be granted this space in The Courier every week.
So when it seems like the world is going to hell, it feels like it’s my duty to draw attention to wrongs that better people than me might be encouraged to right.
And lord knows the world is going to hell this spring.
There are injustices being committed from Westminster to Mariupol, a cost of living crisis and lots of people on Twitter getting Very Cross Indeed.
But try as I might I can’t get up my dander up today.
Because here in Perthshire the sky is blue and cloudless, spring is in the air, and did you ever hear a blackbird singing in a tree you planted yourself?
I noticed my first rosebud this week. And my first aphids. I spent far longer admiring tulips than my younger, hipper self would ever have thought possible.
My front door’s been open from dawn to dusk. And I’ve given up on steering the bumblebees out of the house – ‘There’s sunshine on your hairy back little pal, you bumble around in here all you like’.
We’ve earned this spring – even more than usual
Unless you’re one of those oddballs who claim to thrive on cold and darkness (I respect your right to exist but I will NEVER understand you) spring is always such a relief.
There are days in February and March when you start to wonder if it will ever happen.
And then you get a stretch of good weather and it feels like the world is shaking the weight of winter off its shoulders.
And after the two and a bit years we’ve lived through, it feels like we’ve really earned this one.
I caught up with old friends who I haven’t seen since before the pandemic last Saturday. I’m meeting another lot this weekend. Another the week after.
This season of new beginnings is living up to its hype.
And it’s not just me who’s breathing out.
The crowds are back at Perth Races. Hurrah for hats and hangovers.
Friends in Dundee tell me the trees in Dawson Park are heavy with spring cherry blossom.
Links Market returned to Kirkcaldy for the Easter Weekend – the first time it’s been staged since 2019.
Kirriemuir is preparing to welcome thousands of music fans for Bonfest next weekend after two years of virtual celebrations.
It’s a very different spring from 2021, and certainly compared to 2020.
And in the week Scotland ditched the last of its Covid rules, maybe we can dare to hope that things are finally looking up
A season for counting your blessings
The world is a rotten place but we’re relatively lucky, most of us.
There are people in Ukraine and elsewhere who’d give anything to stand under the blossom on their favourite tree, or chew over good times with old pals and a pint.
And there’s plenty to be angry about and plenty we need to fix.
But there’s plenty to be thankful for too and it does us no harm to stop and smell the roses sometimes.
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