The weather that is. March was as bad as February. Worse really because so much more is expected. There were a few glimmers of hope. There was one exceptional day when the sun shone, and the wind dropped. Fortunately it coincided with a day when Ragley Hall was open for a spring walk. 
It was just what a spring day should be and gave a hint of good things to come. Not a hope! By the next morning the snow was back, the overcast skies, and the feelings of deep depression. And we didn’t have it anywhere near as badly as many other parts of the country. No snowdrifts, no road closures in the immediate vicinity. Just bitter cold and overcast skies. I have a great deal of sympathy for those ex-pats struggling with the banks in Cyprus, and I do understand their motivation in trying to escape from the dreadful winters we seem to be having at the moment.
One big round of applause for Nigel Powell of Stratford Oaks Golf Club. Subs are due for renewal today, and, with the renewal information, we were sent an invitation to take two guests for a free 18 holes, followed by a free meal, to be taken by 31st March. I had an email from Nigel yesterday to say that, due to the bad weather, and the spasmodic course closure, this has now been extended to 30th April. Fingers crossed the weather does take a turn for the better, especially now British Summer Time has officially started. Golf in the cold is one thing, but golf in the mud is purgatory!
It’s nice to see that the Pompeii Exhibition at the British Museum has opened to glowing reviews. 
I love this image. Much more than the more popular picture of the baker and his wife. Perhaps it’s because I have dogs, and understand something of the instinct a dog has to defend its territory. We are Friends of the BM, which means that, even with a hugely popular exhibition like this one, we can swipe our cards at any time, and get in free. As many times as we like! So, we are travelling up to London on my birthday later in the month as a special treat. Later in the year the Friends of our local Roman Museum, where I am a volunteer, are organising a coach trip to see the exhibition. If it is as good as reviews suggest we just might beg a seat in the coach (much cheaper than the train and door to door!) for a second viewing. There is also, I understand, a live broadcast from the exhibition at local cinemas in June. This includes my local cinema. I just hope it’s not too popular. When I went into the website to try and book some tickets I was cut off at the pass. Members only at this stage. No information as to when public booking starts. I am already a Friend at the BM (worth every penny!) and a Full Member instead of the much cheaper Associate Member of the RST (undertaken to ensure tickets for this years production of Richard ll with David Tennant) and a member of the National Trust so we can have ‘free’ days out now we are retired (they have some lovely restaurants, and a lot of cracking second-hand bookshops!). No way am I joining anything else at the moment.
Having said that, the cinema does broadcast the NTLive productions. Just last week we saw People and we have tickets for The Audience later, and membership does give a discount…..? No. On reflection not worth it.
Last week my Latin teacher, Neil Treble, came to the Museum to give a talk on Cicero, Man of Action or Ditherer.
Part of his argument was, of course, the conspiracy of Cataline, shown graphically in this painting. But also his inability to judge people very well, underestimating ‘the boy’ Octavian, and really getting under the skin of Mark Antony. This was his final undoing. The talk was very entertaining, Neil is a clever speaker, hitting just the right note. It is just a shame that the audience was not larger. (See the beginning of this blog. Weather was atrocious, we were lucky to get an audience at all!) However, he made enough of a good impression to be asked back again later in the year. Memo to self – make sure it’s the height of summer!
One last plea to the gods. 
Jupiter in particular. Please can we have at least a glimmer of spring. I’m not asking for full-blown summer, even though we are now into BST, just a little spring sunshine. And lose the bitter cold winds – please! I want to be able to go out of my house without looking like the Michelin man. I want to be able to go to the golf club and play the course, not practice on the range. I want the dogs to come in from their walks without treading mud everywhere. Is that too much to ask?
