Spring is in the air - and hope

Magnolia tree, primroses beneath

The end of the lockdown will be sweet. While it will happen in stages, as has often happened in the past, every step will be welcome. From tomorrow, we can finally meet people outdoors again. This is great, as I've started to meet some of the other people in the ex-pat community, and it will be nice to have a chance to meet some of them in person as we have so far only been meeting online. Little by little, as the vaccines are doled out to greater populations, we'll experience some semblance of social life again.

 I haven't had a lot to write about lately for this reason--one can only write so much about just walking around one's neighbourhood. I've posted Facebook photos, mostly flowers and birds, for friends and family, but I haven't had much of a story to share that the pictures couldn't tell, themselves. The collection of those photos, though, caused my mom to comment to me yesterday that you get the impression that London isn't just a concrete jungle with all the nature photos I tend to post. It was such a great comment, because that is exactly what I have been trying to show in my blog and my photos, the exposition of a city that most people, unless they are Londoners, would typically not see. I mean think about it: when you come to visit the city, you want to see the museums and other attractions. Those types of places are generally surrounded by other buildings. As a result, you're not going to see the neighbourhood parks or spend much time at the river to see what all these areas have to offer. And there's nothing wrong with that, because London is expensive, and you have to pack in as much as you can into the typically short time people spend here, perhaps a week or so. So one doesn't have the time to explore small neighbourhoods or wonder, much less find, where the green spaces are. Nevertheless, these spaces exist. 

Hyde Park daffodils

One thing we've discovered is how much people here love to get their outdoor time. In all the seasons we've been here, we've seen people go outside to read a book. It's not uncommon to see someone reading a book on a bench by the river or in one of the parks, whether they set up a blanket on the ground or sit on a bench. I suspect that with it being cloudy here so much of the time, and the fact that their milk is not fortified with vitamin D like ours back in Canada, that people want to get out and soak up whatever sunlight or daylight they can. And Sunday afternoons are for family outings. Now I don't know what people do when there's not a pandemic, if they are going for walks in parks or if that has just increased since the pandemic began, but the parks are definitely full of families on a Sunday afternoon and often on a Saturday afternoon, too. In fact, I actually try to avoid the parks on those days because there are too many people that I find it difficult to enjoy, especially if there are birds I want to hear or see. But it's lovely to see so many people out; while there seem to be these little parks everywhere, and some large ones here and there, green space is still at a premium in London, so it's something that locals take full advantage of using when they can. 

Chiondoxa, or "Glory of Snow"

While winters here are mild enough that there are a few flowers that seem to grow outdoors, such as petunia/ivy baskets, pansies, cyclamen, and mahonia x media winter sun, but then when spring flowers emerge, there seem to be droves of them in places.  As you can see, I've scattered a few samples of them throughout this post. Thousands of daffodils bloom as well as crocuses, snowdrops, hyacinth, and more recently, cherry blossoms and magnolias. The daffodils are particularly well-timed, as they seem to be blooming everywhere just before the 1st of March, which is St David's Day in Wales, and it so happens that the daffodil is Wales's national flower. They have many varieties of them here, too, from tiny, delicate narcissus types to giant daffodils, and all with different shades and combos of white, yellow, and orange cups and petals. It's quite beautiful!

Battersea Park cherry blossoms

The next flower I'm looking forward to seeing is wisteria. I remember when I stayed with my friend back in 2006 in May, the area of London she lived in, I remember this one high stone wall around a property that was festooned with wisteria, and it was like being rained on by lavendar-coloured flowers as they so gracefully hung down in their vine-y fashion. In any case, this is a London I'm happy to share with you because even if you come visit me, you might not be here in this season, or again, have time to enjoy the green spaces. 

Crocuses at Vauxall park