Springtime in the Bay has a distinctive look. It’s bright, sparkling and full of life. Shades of sky blue to muted grey-blues are set off by the white surf and the various greens on the banks as they come into life. And the canoes have left their winter store and are on the march down to the sea to join the surfers who are back despite the frigid temperature.

In the garden, the look of Spring is everywhere. It’s a real show with muddles of blue and vivid green punctuated by an abundance of early pink clematis climbing over a fence. In the veggie terrace, the giant garlic plants have sprouted to kick off the ratatouille collection.

And the annual Spring clean is underway. The (inherited) hot tub, used twice in thirteen years- Gone. The fancy garden lights, broken for more than five years- Gone. And the ugly tree stumps left by the winter’s storms- Gone. It’s so refreshing to get on with the jobs list.

It’s Eastertime and right on cue, here come the calla lilies, symbol of peace. They are this month’s star. Enjoy the look of spring.

Book work has slowed while I learn about the difference between playwriting and script writing. It’s another new world to get to grips with but book-writing will resume shortly as I have deadlines to meet. And there is some good news too: although sales of Louisa’s Lament have slowed, we have still made enough money to make another contribution to the Students’ Hardship Fund. Thanks to everyone who bought the book or borrowed a library copy as each loan is worth £1 in the pot and it all mounts up.

Come back next time to find out what’s happening as May arrives and the book’s characters, based on an amalgam of those crazy people I have known, take shape.

Spring has arrived. At last. The clocks have changed so we now get more than twelve hours of bright sunlight a day. And it shows. Our bay is twinkling in the sun but looks are deceptive as the sea is very cold at this time of year. Best leave that to the fishermen for now, although the hardy surfers and wild swimmers are already giving it a go.

However, in the garden, everything has taken off in the last few days with the cascading rosemary waterfalls, which are alive with bees, giving off their intense fragrance that fills the air as you step down to the house. The muted pink hellebores, not to be left out, have successfully muscled in to give their annual show before returning to the earth to rest until next winter.

And of those signifiers of the new season, the giant snowdrops, daffodils and primroses? They are out and about kicking off the Spring burst.

The storm damaged wooden terracing facing the sea has been replaced so we now have a sturdy rather handsome Cornish stone wall and a crunchy path of shingle that leads down to the lower garden. There, the berberises and agapanthuses are waiting until Easter time to burst forth.

My new book is progressing, but I must admit to a distraction. A playwright is looking at Louisa’s Lament for its possibilities as a play focussed on the four women at the centre of the story. I think I’m about to enter another new world of putting on a play…

Happy Easter to you all and come back next time to find out what’s happening as spring gathers pace and the book, and maybe a play, take shape.