Spring has sprung!

The Spring Equinox today. What a truly glorious start to official Spring! The sun was already well up when I drew back the curtains just after 6.00 am. How quickly the weeks have gone since we were seeing it rise on our early walk.
A super walk this morning, much warmer and wall to wall sunshine and accompanied by Wilsden Walkers grand dogs for the last time for now.

We decided yesterday that we would return to Bradford to see the Extraordinary Portraits exhibition that is currently on as part of Bradford’s City of Culture 2025. Chris didn’t  fancy the last Sunday and I’m not sure if I am home or away yet the week after we get back from our holiday - long story.
 Bill Bailey has presented this programme, which we sadly haven’t seen, but I had heard about the exhibition from others.  We got there a bit after it’s opening at 12.00 and walked straight in but were quickly shuffled  back down the stairs as the room was at capacity - 100. We were at the front so not much of a wait and we had a good chat with the couple next in line who had travelled from Warrington who had come specially to see it. Hopefully more of this kind of thing will bring people from all over.

There are 6 exhibits of people with remarkable stories.  5 are on canvas and all excellent but I really like this sculpture. It is of Chris Lewis who is an ex paratrooper who raised £330,000 for an armed forces charity by walking 19,000 miles around Britain’s coastline. It has taken him 6 years and even more extraordinary is that he set off with just £10 in his pocket.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and will now have to catch up on the programmes. Our short wait didn’t  matter especially as they were queued out of the door and down the street when we came out!

Got a wrap and a cup of tea at Pret when we came out. The bank opposite said it was 17C in the centre of Bradford, it was certainly very warm waiting for the bus, glad I’d taken my vest off! If we carry on like this getting free buses I’ll have to start counting them like Corinthian column!

In the extra you can see the bed of Scilla in the village, blipped last Friday,  which have opened in the sun this week. Also some of the excluded juvenile swans on Coppice Pond