Oh the joys of spring! With lambs frolicking in the meadow, the larks ascending and the swallows once more flying over the glen spring is finally with us.

Before we get all dewy eyed about the rural iddl in which I clearly live – nothing could be further from the truth – there is one thing that I always wonder at. The frantic struggle for life shown by plants, in this case sunflowers. They go from small seeds to plants up to 6 feet tall in the space of in less than 6 months. Such a force for life should give us all pause to consider how much we appreciate life – whether it is a gift or biological fact.

BTW I was brought up in a small village surrounded by countryside and I have to say I’m glad to be out of it. The countryside is a wonderful place to visit but give me the grimy diversity of city life any day.

Simon Marchini
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk