January Blossoms

Noticed the first blossoms on the tree in our front garden yesterday. What a difference a year makes - in 2011, following the harsh winter, the flowers didn't appear until sometime in March. It made me wonder just how plants are able to sense that it's the right time to flower; is it an autonomous response based on a period of favourable conditions or, more sinisterly, do plants have an as yet undiscovered ability for long-range weather forecasting, sitting stuck in the ground laughing at us humans (I'm sure plants can laugh - in that old episode of Tales of the Unexpected, they could certainly feel pain and let out unearthly (if inaudible to human ears) screams - so it would be an unjust world where they were bereft of joy) and our hit-and-miss predictions. I think the Met Office should carry out extensive, expensive, and likely fruitless investigations into this phenomena. Either that, or just point the camera at a tree during the weather forecast.

Our telephone went on the blink again last night, only a few days since it was last fixed. I call shenanigans - it's clearly some sort of evil conspiracy (though one which left my broadband untouched - thanks conspirators!) to reduce our fixed line phonebill and massively overspend on mobile calls.

The boys' swimming lesson was an extended affair this week. Last week's lesson was curtailed by a fire alarm (more evil conspiracy, no doubt!) which meant the kids at the lesson spent half their time shivering and out of the water (though, you'd think they'd have been safer in the water, eh? Well, unless the roof fell in or something.) Thankfully, it was a false alarm caused by someone smashing the glass on one of the alarm switches (although it's perhaps more scary to think that there was someone skulking around a darkened school building setting off fire alarms like some kind of vandal Michael Myers or something). Anyway, the kids got an extra 15 mins added to the lesson this week, and the swimming instructor's wife was there. He's made numerous comments on how strict she is, and that any misbehaving children would feel her wrath. He wasn't lying. For a small woman, she had a big voice and asserted her authority over the kids with a rod of iron, although she was equally forthcoming with praise when she saw it was deserved. Both my boys did well and got a sticker.