The bluebells are out. The ground in the wood is a haze of blue; it's amazingly beautiful. I took the picture above as I walked in to work this morning, and the one below on my walk home this evening. I'm still amazed by the contrast between 5 on a summer's evening in the park - families relaxing on the grass, dads flying kites, children riding bikes - and 5 on a winter's evening, when it's been pitch dark for more than an hour, it's freezing cold, and everyone is hunched against the rain, heads down, walking home as fast as they can. Probably people who grow up with clearly defined seasons don't find the contrast as dramatic as we do



I'm loving the warm sunny weather we've been having recently; am hoping it's a sign that this summer will be a good one (unlike last year's soggy disaster). The only downside is that the students have run amok with the fake tan in preparation for summer; I had a hard time breathing in class this morning, the chemical reek emanating from my orange blotchy class was so strong.