Helping to brighten our spirits writes Roy Edmonds

In fact, there’s always pleasing stuff around – pictures, cards, keep-sakes and tiny treasures of ornaments. We’re not of the current grey, antiseptic look; cosy-cottage is more our style. Barely any flat space isn’t covered with something, except when She Who Knows has one of her ‘de-cluttering’ purges – then beware!

Something else was brightening our spirits, too, as I cooked up a special Valentine’s dinner. Birdsong is always uplifting but, apart from some chirruping from sparrows in our great ivy hedge, there’s not usually much of that this time of year.

But, lo – as they say, there was our blackbird singing at dusk as though spring had sprung. He was at it again too, I’m told, at the break of dawn; though I didn’t hear him, owing to a contented sleep aided by some bubbly during that dinner the evening before.

It seems we’ve hardly had a winter, with temperatures regularly hovering around the double-figure mark. Just that chilling wind and some downpours have interrupted a run of sunnier, if crisp, days. Later, during these dark evenings, we’re rarely tempted out.

Before we know it, March will be at our doors and spring truly on its way. In the meantime, we’re enjoying our heraldic singing by the blackbird, along with the last homely pleasures of this fading winter.

It seems the new year really might bring better times, despite those rising household bills and dire forecasts. Then we’ll all have something to sing about!

Read Roy’s books in paperback from FeedARead.com , also on Amazon Kindle or through Waterstones.

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