Spring in My Step

Beyonce was AMAZING! I mean I am no fan, but she showed up on time and did a full 2 hours 15 minutes! She had at least ten costume changes but she never left the stage for more than 3 minutes, unlike other artist who use costume changes as a way to short change the fans.  Well done Mrs Carter!

After close to 5 months of winter, spring has finally arrived! As you know not all countries have seasons; if you live in a country that doesn’t you will never understand what it is like when any season goes on for too long. I suppose it’s a little bit like fashion; take the “Stripper Shoes” for instance. They were great when they first came out, but 3 seasons later we are all a bit tired of hobbling around on sculpted bricks. In the UK we have 4 seasons. Love ‘em, loathe ‘em, it is what we have come to expect and our entire lives revolves around them.

Spring: March - May

This is by far my favourite season. Whilst I was in possession of a London postcode (zip code) all spring meant was, “time to put my winter clothes in storage.” However, since motherhood, the call of the Home Counties was far more appealing than the draw of bright lights. Spring time in the counties means out with the winter pansies to make way for lots of daffodils and tulips followed by hyacinth and bluebells. Come May any County lady worth her salt has her hanging baskets prepped and ready to be the envy of the street over the coming months! The weather is rainy over the first two months and sunshine through the latter parts.

Sunrise is around 5am and sunset at 7pm. Gargantuan glasses of red wine are traded in for tall, straight glasses of skinny G&T’s. On the shoe front first things first; I always invest in a pair of “Summer Wellington Boots” as rain is the only dead cert, and the brighter and more elaborate the boots, the better. You will be thankful for a conversational piece whilst crowded under a socked gazebo watching the rain gate-crash your BBQ/Sports day/School fete and every other outdoor event you have planned over the next few months. I always play it safe with ballet pumps and patterned shoes with a sneaky pedicure to avoid being caught short. Wearing open toes shoes before May tends to be both risky and risqué, flip flops before June is just plain rude!   

After

Before

 

Summer:  June - August

Rumour has it that this season is a myth in the United Kingdom, but I can say on good authority that it exists in some shape or form.  Mostly sunny with a few showers, or a complete wash out!  Busy lizzies, geraniums and daisies are the bedding plants of choice with those demure hanging baskets of spring, bursting into an amazing mess of colours, smells and textures overflowing with trailing lobelia. I for one have been struck with hanging basket envy. You think you have got all bases covered with a special colour theme to mark the Royal Wedding/Diamond Jubilee and then it turns out the trend of that year was fruit baskets and you missed the memo. So, come June when your Union Jack themed basket should be making waves everyone has crowded around the strawberry basket with waterfalls of strawberries cascading down! There are sunflowers which, hands down, I am the ruling queen of; poppies are also great and my all-time favourite is  lavender!

Sunrise is around 430 am and sets as late as 10pm. My Ghanaian relatives find this most extraordinary when they visit me during the summer as the sun sets between 5 and 6 pm all year round in Ghana. Pimms is the drink of choice; strawberries, cucumber and mint are a must! As are Birkenstock Birkis or any other cork-soled sandals going. I tend to ease up on the heals, instead opting for a more flexible kitten heal or mules. Wedge heals are great but being a size 7/39 they tend to look too clumpy on my feet. What, flip flops? Okay, if you are in spitting distance of a beach or the foot spar! I just can’t think why else you would want to walk around with such a silly noise emulating from your feet! Don’t forget your summer wellies!    

Autumn : September - November 

With the last vestiges of summer clinging on, the striking gladioli in all colours send a sharp warning that fall is nigh. Crisp mornings followed by warm afternoons is the best one can hope for. It’s a terrible time for fashion because it’s too hot for winter cloths and too gloomy to be sporting the bright colours of the previous season, and as for shoes, it is a minefield. Too soon for winter boots and no need for sandals, I stick to stilettos and ankle boots; cowboy boots have become my autumn staple, and they look great with a dress and with trousers. On the garden front we separate the women from the girls: a good hanging basket should still be going!!! It means you have gone the distance, you have staying power and dedication because those baskets demanded it. Those little baskets of pride need to be watered at least twice daily and deadheaded every day. There is nothing worse than coming home after a short summer break to find nothing but brown twigs and tumble weeds rolling around in your baskets. I was close to tears one year as I smugly jumped out of my airport taxi with pull case in tow to be greeted by two very dead hanging baskets and an even deader field mouse my cat had left on my door step as a welcome home gift. Not to mention, my lilies were being ravaged by the deadly lilly bug. Anything which has the ability to turn something so beautiful into stalks of ugly sludge makes me nervous; not to mention they are highly contagious. What must the neighbours have thought!  Never mind, I doubled up on my spring bulbs and set the record straight!

Sunrise is around 6am and sets at 6pm until the clocks go forward in October, then it sets at 5pm. Drink of choice: anything that’s left over from the BBQs, raffles and tombola wins from the previous season.

Winter: December - February

My least favourite season. Summer is all but a distant memory. I couldn’t tell you what’s going on in the garden as my last visit out there would probably have been Halloween. SO WHAT. I am a fair weather gardener and there is no shame in that!

Clothes tend to be tailored, peppered with tweeds and corduroy; any boot will do with the exception of UGG. This is the worse time to live in the United Kingdom.

The sun rises as late as 9am and sets as early as 3:45. I find this so depressing, and throw in ice cold rain and heaps of snow and I’m ready to bail out of this country. I thank God every winter that I have family in Florida and Ghana to visit during these months, else I doubt I'd make it out of hibernation!

Drink of choice is red wine, mulled at Christmas markets, in a big glass at home and with ice and orange juice or as sangria whilst in Ghana! There are many ways to skin a cat.  

This is how it works and this is how it has always been. We put up with the bad seasons in the hope that the good seasons will return. So you should now understand my indignation when winter has stayed too long! The year is out of sync, the garden is a mess, I don’t know what to wear and I am all out of red wine!

My training is going well, though, and has been a good distraction through the extended winter. I have decided to raise money for charity on my trek as so many people have said they would sponsor me. I have decided to go for a mental health charity, as it is an illness that destroys so many families, families who not only have to cope with the illness but also the negative stigma attached to it. I know of a few big charities but would like to support some of the grass roots ones, so please let me know if you know of any.  Until then, I’m raising my first glass of G&T to you all.