A better day than I thought!

Although I'm still feeling pretty ropey with this cold, I have been out every day this week and this morning the sun was shining so I went across Castle Green on my way to the shops. What a difference from yesterday when it was cloudy, damp and gloomy and everything looked grey and forlorn. Today the birds were really warming up their vocal chords ready to attract a mate, the hazel trees were dripping with luxurious long yellow catkins and the mahonia is just beginning to open giving us the promise of spring. On days like this I think everyone feels a lot better, I know I feel more invigorated and cheerful.
Very often in the shopping centre there are market researchers with their clipboards who have a habit of springing in front of you or the students who are working as charity fundraisers and normally I try to avoid them if I can. Today was no exception but I could not avoid the young man standing just outside the first shop I was about to enter. He was very pleasant and I knew quite lot about the organisation he was collecting for, but I explained to him that he had stopped the wrong person as I could not commit to paying a regular monthly donation from my small pension because the landlady has that. Anyway, we had quite a conversation about all sorts of things including world affairs, education, the countryside and cooking (I even gave him a pasta recipe) then he thanked me and I went on my way.
When I had finished my shopping, I decided I would go back over Castle Park on my way home and again the birds were singing fit to burst, so I sat down on a bench just to listen to them for five minutes or so while enjoying the sunshine. It's amazing how much better I felt with the delicate warmth of the sun on my poor old nose which is quite red and sore from being blown every ten minutes or so and despite coughing and spluttering. I'm surprised I didn't frighten the two squirrels who were busy playing a game of chase up the trees and enjoying every minute of the good weather. They were unaware of my presence there because they were obviously having too good a time.