It's absolutely too early to call it, but this morning felt very much as though we have broken through the tail end of winter and spring is returning. The birds in the park pre-dawn were as loud as I remember hearing them, almost since May last year, and this weekend's weather was bright and crisp and fresh and, occasionally, warm in the sun. The wind has a cold nip to it though, so I know we're not out of the woods yet.

I have to remind myself that this half term reset is a really good milestone in the year. Once it is out of the way, the days begin to feel sufficiently long as to give hope for what's to come. In my part of the world, sunrise is teetering on the 7am threshold, while sunset is heading for 17:30. That the sun now sets after work is definitely a thing to celebrate, and it won't be long until sunset pushes past six and beyond. That's when we really start cooking. And then there's the change of the clocks in March!

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It has been a truly long and dull winter for a lot of us.