It’s not the light start and end to the days, the cherry blossom on the trees or the fact that I’m trying to get my feet sandal fit that marks the onset of a new season for me.  It’s the itchy eyes, the sneezing and the bulk purchase of the strongest antihistamines that money can buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t even suffer from hay fever well into my twenties; I spent a blissful childhood running through fields, throwing myself into mounds of grass cuttings and picking wild flowers.  I’ll be forever grateful for that at least.  It was a mild irritation when we lived in Scotland rarely flaring up for more than a few days at a time, but it became debilitating when we moved to the southwest of England. It’s hard to maintain a professional facade when your client starts handing you tissues when your eyes won’t stop running.

It’s easy enough to prevent though, which is just as well or I’d spend my spring and summer time in a barren landscape.  I also have trouble with orchids and christmas trees, so whenever I visit my parents I need to bring industrial strength drugs with me.

I wouldn’t change it for the world though.  There is no other season that makes me feel as alive as I do in spring – it’s as though I’m awakening from a dark, muted sleep and open my eyes to a sea of colour.  We held a ‘yellow’ day in the office last week in support of a local charity and decorated the office with daffodils.  Neither we, nor the office, have ever looked brighter or healthier.  They call it mellow yellow for a reason.