'Ne'er cast a clout ...

'til May be out.'

When I was a wee girl and eejits would strip off at the first hint of sunshine in early Spring, my grandmother would shake her head and say this. For years I thought it referred to the month but it's actually a reference to may, the old word for hawthorn blossom and its appearance marks the shift from Spring to Summer.

I'm on the train from Dover and this is between Walmer and Deal. There are miles and miles of fields full of rape and thousands of hawthorns along the railway tracks. The English countryside is just glorious on a day like today. And you can start taking your clothes off now.