Interesting times

Hard to know whom to listen to these days as the lurgy continues its natural progress.  Governmental vacillation is to be expected (perhaps more so under current regimes) as too is stock market fluctuation.  It prompts me to wonder, and not for the first time, who in the world would design a system that runs the world’s economy on the basis of the whims and fancies of these self-serving punters?  Would you run your company on the basis of sentiment alone?  Cos that’s what seems to govern the economy.  I’m glad I’m old.

We’re almost enjoying watching the nation’s shopping behaviour.  Fortnums were rationing R-swipe to three packs per customer last weekend, and Waitrose and Sainsbury were cleaned out thereof.  As a friend remarks, all this stockpiling just adds a fire hazard to the risk of infection.

Add two almost entirely wasted days at the hobby this week, and you’ll understand why my already jaundiced Weltanschauung is just about at its darkest.  We were both a bit sniffly on Thursday, so cancelled the art gathering: although our symptoms don’t correspond to those of the current lurgy, we don’t want to compromise our fellow daubers’ immune systems.   Various other engagements have been cancelled, notably the CAB Quiz, which is a shame, since it’s an evening we always enjoy.  We are due to go on a a cruise in early May, but expect that too will be cancelled, and in any case, if they don’t, we will, knowing how we tend to pick up some bug or other on cold weather cruises.  Shame, since I’ve always wanted to see the fjords.  Another time, maybe, although a strong lobby is building in Norway opposing cruise ship visits to the fjords, and at least two of our planned ports of call aren’t letting cruise ships disembark passengers and crew for the time being.

But.  The magnolia stellata out the front is coming into flower, the iris sibirica has started into growth and many primulas continue to delight the eye.  I’m always glad to see the cowslips and primroses in the spring, and their cultivated cousins are doing extremely well.  I squelched up the garden the other day to hack back the hydrangea, and had a go at the new penstemons while I was in the area.  All are budding up nicely, as, of course, are the roses.  I see lots of flower buds on the spiraeas, but also quite a bit of die-back, so that will need attention.  The apple tree is budding well despite the mutilation I visited upon it a few weeks ago, so it’ll be interesting to see whether it continues in its biennial habit. We had a lot of fruit last year....   There are a lot of camellias in flower hereabouts, including ours (though we wish our landscapers had thought to get us a red one).