Spring is here. The sun is shining. Well perhaps not on everyone.

The year’s at the spring,

And day’s at the morn;

Morning’s at seven;

The hill-side’s dew-pearled;

The lark’s on the wing;

The snail’s on the thorn;

God’s in His heaven—

All’s right with the world!

Perhaps in Browning's world of 1841 'all was right with the world'. 

Might I recommend to M. Fillon to always carry two wads of cotton wool when being interviewed by journalists? Then if one of them turns out to be a harridan he could stuff his ears up. This would not only blot out the irritating questions and permit him to remain calm, cool and collected but might also give the offending journalist a case of the terminal jitters.

Listening to the news on France Info this morning one could be left with the impression it was the French who invented Summer Time during the petrol crisis of 1973 or thereabouts. Which just goes to show how young today’s experts are.

I can remember Summer Time during my youth. It was introduced in the UK in 1940 and abandoned (with great common sense) during the 1950’s. It had been introduced during the Great War as well.

Frankly I find it a headache as it messes up my sleep for a week; not to mention children and cows.

A pity we can’t live the year through with natural time.

Trouble in French Guyana! Was there not  a Dutch Guyana and a British Guyana at one time? Both colonies but now independent.

Oh well a colony by any other name etc……………

I remember when Mayotte in the Comores became a French overseas department there was this black teenager being interviewed. I have never forgotten her saying “now I am European…”.

Doubtless an ever expanding European Community but an odd sense of geography!