Northern Ireland

One of the thorny Brexit issues will be Northern Ireland (Ulster). This has a land border with Eire which will remain in the EU. Currently, there is free movement north and south across this border. What happens when the UK leaves the EU?

Most unionists do not want a united island of Ireland. Most in Sin Fein would like to see the island reunited. I, for one, do not see how this will be resolved. Maybe a political "fudge" with the north somehow independent? No, I think Theresa May, the UK PM, has a really tricky issue here.

Ancestors

My ancestors come from South Devon. Many still live near here. I have a continuous genealogy back to the mid-1500s and one of my ancestors owned a piece of land near here in 1428. It is good to think of them enjoying this all those years ago. The cycle of life goes on.

Mr Trump

A lot of people in the USA voted him into office. As yet, he has still to demonstrate true statesman-like behaviour on the world stage. He will be judged by this. We have not yet had him in office 100 days, so it would be wrong to judge him too soon, although personally I have not been impressed.

Signs of life in the garden

There are stirrings in the garden.

After what seemed like a long, dull winter, the daffodils are in flower, snowdrops are past their best, and there are buds on the trees and bushes. Only a few weeks hopefully and we'll see the first swallows back from Africa. I have seen them April 1st in Devon, but they are usually later here in East Anglia.

So, the cycle of life goes on.

Violets everywhere

This spring we seem to have violets everywhere! Usually we see some, but this year they appear to be all over the place! Now, we had a mild, damp winter, so I am wondering if these conditions particularly favour violets?  Also daffodils were late this year but suddenly they are all out in a wonderful sea of yellow.

This year we have had a wetter winter than I can ever remember. Perhaps this is a result of global warming?

Newmarket

We live about 4 miles from Newmarket, which is the horse racing capital of the world. The area is surrounded by studs, many of which are owned by rich Arab sheiks.

We do most of our food shopping in Newmarket. In this town, the horse is king and cars often give way to passing strings of horses being exercised. 

A trip up to Newmarket Heath is often accompanied by horses galloping.

Anglesey Abbey Daffodils

A few weeks ago it was seas of snowdrops. These are now past their best and it seems there are daffodils in flower all over the place. There are always great shows of these at nearby Anglesey Abbey. Another 2 weeks and they will all look superb.