A little hand feeling spring for the first time... This post is not so much about manners but spring...its influences and inspirations. While I have written about spring and its impact on me previously, somehow this year the burgeoning rose buds, and flourishing new wisteria plumes have meant so much more. Spring for me has always had a huge influence...the change in the light as the dawn calls me at 5.30 for a walk along the river with my dog...somehow the energy of the light infuses me with enthusiasm. Ruby and I revel in the dawn light... And this year I have become a grandmother for the first time; it is an extraordinary experience and can give, if one accepts it, a new view of the life which remains to be lived. The opportunities which are offered are more shiny somehow...the difficulties which were part of the last two or three decades somehow feel now like necessary experiences... I live a modern life. My grandchild lives on the other side of my