Having had our first dose of spring in France, we're now getting the second one, as the trees in Kent and Sussex take on their enormous variety of shades and tones of green, and the blossom is starting on the cherries and apples.  We are finally getting the rain we need, and stuff is growing like mad, even with some overnight frosts.  The rain does make maintaining the grass rather difficult, though.  Our notoriously waterlogged back grass is remaining so rather later than usual this year - we have had to jam in the winter and spring treatments at an interval of only a week,  and with the forecast as it is, I don't see much likelihood of keeping it neatly trimmed.  (Yes: we are officially in drought and may not use hosepipes; the grass is waterlogged and the rain-filled pond is overflowing.)  The front is a disaster area - there is far more dead moss than grass, so I guess we'll need to scarify and re-sow.  Or get it grubbed up and replaced with gravel....

Getting quite fired up about our jaunt to Germany.  We'll be visiting Berlin and Hamburg, neither of which I know well, having spent a night or two in each in 1999 and 1984 respectively.  I think most of the pieces of the jigsaw are now in place, though I have yet to arrange the parking at Gatwick, where we have to be by an obscenely early hour.  It will at least be light-ish this time - our last ride along the winding so-called A-road was in pitch darkness.

Martyn is putting the finishing touches to the redecoration of the cloakroom, where he has boxed in the pipework rather elegantly.  We're modestly pleased with the results - the light terracotta walls are nice and bright (despite poor coverage by the own-brand paint from the big shed down the road (name withheld, but it's got an & in it).  The tiling, using up spares left over from the kitchen and the conservatory, though a vile job in such a confined space, appears to have been a success.  The DIY refitting of the WC is watertight.  So far.  Ah, the satisfaction one derives from mundane achievements in one's sad little life.  Not yet 08:30, and there are two loads of washing out on the line in the sunshine and breeze - Yippee!