Cold but dry here; in Northumberland last week Spring seemed much further advanced. Although we’ve had lots of sunshine in March it has been bone dry and everything seems in a state of arrested development.

That’s how it seems in other ways; Artist’s Open House starts in just over a month and neither our building works, our garden nor – much to the point – does my art work feel as if they are bursting into life. There’s plenty under way; it just seems held back like the Spring. We need the equivalent of a good downpour and some hot sunshine and all that nearly-finished work, like those half-emerging plants, that nearly-completed bathroom, will surge into new life!