Easter Daffodils

The sun is shining on Stromness this Easter Saturday morning, and on our way into the library we noticed, among the bright oranges and purples of the crocuses, the first golden daffodils unfolding to greet the spring.

For, despite the cold, spring is here (don't forget to put your clocks forward tonight as we enter British Summer Time) though for many places in the south tomorrow's Easter egg rolling will be complicated by lying snow.

In view of the mixture of weather and season it seemed appropriate to share the first stanza of George Mackay Brown's poem 'Daffodil Time'

1 Daffodils

Ho, Mistress Daffodil, said Ikey (tinker)
Where have you been all winter?
There was snow in the ditches last night
And here you are.
Did you light your lamp in that blizzard?

When Ikey came back
Next day, with his pack, from windy Njalsay
The yellow hosts
Were cheering and dancing all the way to the inn.          

Both Stromness and Kirkwall  libraries will be closed on Monday 1st April for the Easter Monday public holiday. We wish all our readers a day full of warm spring sunshine and golden daffodils.