1st May from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

The sea sighs gently back and forth on the sand. The breeze is soft and fragrant. The sun appears from time to time between the woolly clouds. The Dorset Belle ploughs across the bay ready for its first consignment of passengers from the pier. Two jetskis trace spirals of white. The pigeon choir is flat out in the trees and every other species of local birds are providing a descant. Everything is growing quickly, the brambles are scrambling skywards and the squirrels are devouring the new pollen cones.

From 1st May 2022

Drizzly rain throughout the day from a flat, grey sky. But the moisture has perked all the flowers and vegetation up. The Field buttercups are standing tall and cheerfully bright yellow. A couple of stands of garlic mustard at the edge of the pine grove at thei garlicky ent to that of the three cornered leeks. The paths are decorated with intricate swirls and arabesques made by the luminous yellow pollen if the pines. The grey sea is as calm as it ever is with only he occasinal wavelet lapping at the shore. On the cliff are a number of apple trees now in full snowy bloom. There is some conjecture as to how they got there but I can only guess that they come from applecores pitched over he edge in the past. The rain stops for a while. Pigeons coo. Backbirds sing. #westcliffgreen #bournemouth #May #spring

From 1st May 2014

Suddenly, out of a leaden sky the rain comes down in stair rods. The girls walking home squeal at the awfulness of it and dash for the front door where they stand watching in delight at the downpour. It is one of those moments where people shrug and smile at each other.