Cabal of kingfishers piques my curiosity

I SPENT the bank holiday weekend on my boat on the Grand Canal.

Drifting through the midlands at about eight kilometres an hour at the beginning of May is an extremely pleasant thing to do. You’re always close to the banks and the speed is slow enough to allow you to notice things.

I noticed several signs of the hard winter and late spring. Primroses were in full bloom at the same time as the first cowslips. I don’t remember this overlap before. Primroses are usually long gone by the time the cowslips appear. And blackthorn was still blossoming and normally it’s finished early in April.