Consolations of Rain

Another day of Haggard weather - but, determined not to be at my desk all day, I set out, raincoated, gloved and umbrella'd, through the cold rain to Holland Park. All this rainfall is making the trees very beautiful, even in deadening winter light, their soaked trunks almost purple against the bright green of moss, mingling with the duller greens and greys of lichen on the branches (lichens are thriving in London, a reassuring sign of clean air). I don't remember a winter where so many of the tree trunks have been so startlingly green... The great thing - one of the great things - about Holland Park is that there are a few places where you can sit in full shelter from the rain and look out at it. This sensation of being in the open air and yet sheltered - and with a view - has a special cheering magic, and, having eaten my sandwich al (demi)fresco, I went on my way that bit lighter of heart. What's more, I spent a while standing under my umbrella and watching the comings and goings at a well frequented bird feeder. The traffic was incessant - mostly tits and finches, but at one point a pied woodpecker swooped down for a quick taster. I was glad to see several coal tits - my favourite, and so far absent from my garden this winter. Work may be grim, but to have sights like these so close at hand is a magnificent consolation.