Post 11/2024/Cornwall/UK. Meteorological spring began 1 March in the UK, ending 31 May. Astronomical spring starts 20 March and ends 20 June. The first simply means splitting the seasons into four periods made up of three months each, making it easier for meteorological observing and forecasting to compare seasonal and monthly statistics.

Meteorologists across the UK are having a time of it detailing the variations in the daily and weekly forecasts. Some form of moisture keeps making its presence known, almost daily; cause for headshaking displeasure, even grumbling. I get it. We’re spending more time indoors than usual, nevertheless making the most of what the weather offers.

“Astronomical seasons refer to the position of the Earth’s orbit in relation to the sun, considering equinoxes and solstices. This is due to the 23.5 degrees of tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis concerning its orbit around the sun.” Check https://www.metoffice.gov.uk

However one marks the spring season, there’s definitely more moisture in the air. We’re grandly awash with green fields and gardens, flowering beds, bushes and trees, fluffy clouds, a mess of mud, great expectations.

Exchanges with friends

Friends flood us with, well, friendship–home visits, days out, worship, fellowship, social occasions. sharing life experiences. Were it not for these interactions our extended stay here would be much less rewarding. Following are some examples of time with friends.

Gloria and Jim. On Monday we were invited to have afternoon tea with Gloria and Jim. We’ve made their acquaintance at church and were glad for this time to be in their home, share our stories, enjoy sandwiches and cream tea and lemon drizzle cake and take a walk. Jim had a long career with the telecom company BT and Gloria had a stable of riding horses, still owning one.

In our cottage

Marilyn and Steve. Marty prepared and served a fine feast on Wednesday with guests Steve and Marilyn, who have connected us with wonderful day trip destinations when the weather allowed. A trip to The Lizard awaits.

Last week

Ann. We enjoyed a lunchtime visit with Ann T. a week ago. Delightful curry and more.

On an almost sunless day

Our stay in Cornwall mainly means living home from home. Normal living. Social, educational, entertainment, spiritual activities. It’s being as much of a local as is possible/practical. In addition, we usually carve out a few days to “go on holiday.” Ha, yes, we usually fit in a break from normal routines. Time away. New fish to fry.

Books old and new

Epidemiologist Professor Mark Woolhouse, University of Edinburgh (The Year the World Went Mad, W F Howes Ltd, 2022), details what went right and what went wrong and what would have been a more timely response in the UK to the Covid-19 pandemic. I’m half-way through the book, finding the account informative, clear, compelling.

To whet your appetite, here’s an excerpt from Chapter One, referring to his involvement in the response to previous epidemics: “BSE (mad cow disease) in 1996; foot and mouth disease in 2001; swine flu in 2009. I was familiar with the sometimes fraught relationship between science and policy. . . .

“I knew in January 2020 that I was about to go through this all again and more. I knew it would be the same for many of my colleagues in the UK and around the world. I hoped that science would rise to the occasion and that we scientists could make a difference. What I did not expect was that elementary principles of epidemiology – my own subject – would be misunderstood and ignored, that tried-and-trusted approaches to public health would be pushed aside, that so many scientists would abandon their objectivity, or that plain common sense would be a casualty of the crisis.

“I did not expect the world to go mad, but it did.”

More reading for a rainy day.

Late afternoon walk on Thursday

.We took a two-mile walk on an upper path out of Carbis Bay and back through Longstone Cemetery. Fine temperature, muddy path, shower just as we arrived home. Good to be out for even a short time.

May we be awash in the joys and pursuits and relationships that are more than just something to keep you going.

-John