Illustration by Emily Taylor
February in Warwickshire
This week Boris unveiled his “roadmap” to guide us out of lockdown. It’s a timetable really but people will feel happier with a roadmap. A map suggests going on a journey out of here while a timetable is associated with being stuck in one place waiting for the bell. I thought the Honey Mountain map would make the best accompaniment for this post. The terrain is a metaphor perhaps?
This February has been notable for the great variety of weather that has hurled itself across the sky. There has been every type of wintery disturbance in the atmosphere that a so-called temperate climate can conjure up. There has been rough wind, torrential rain, bright sun, murky gloom, as well as gloomy murk, and temperatures so low that they hurt. At least, in our corner of Warwickshire we escaped much of the snow. Sometimes sub-zero temperatures were accompanied by bright sunshine and I found myself walking back up the hill from the Co-op feeling as though my face was being slapped by ice lollies.
There was one nice surprise at the beginning of the month! After years of trying, I seem to have successfully grown a flowering Daphne!
What a brave show it puts on in the coldest months and the smell is wonderful. OK, I admit that this one is a bit leggy and sparse but it’s new and I’ll take whatever advice you can offer about how to look after it!
