'Here Comes the Sun'

There was a time when I was a great fan of The Beatles but, unlike some of their contemporaries, their music has faded, with the exception of a handful of songs, of which 'Here Comes the Sun' is one. At present, with a cold winter still in prospect, the words, "Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter," resonate.

That we are past the solstice gives one hope that the days will be lengthening but day length increases glacially slowly. Dawn and dusk this morning in Golspie were at 09.02 and 15.33 giving us a day length of 6 hours and 31 minutes while by Saturday 9th January they will be 08.56 and 15.50, a day length of 6 hours and 54 minutes, an extra 23 minutes, most of which is added on to dusk.

There is one peculiarity about dawn here: we often see the sun at sunrise (above), even on days which are, otherwise, overcast. It's as if, somewhere to the southeast, there's a permanent gap in the clouds, perhaps above some far off land.

I think I may know where that land is. It's a place where I used to live, many decades ago, and all my memories of it are of sunny, warm days with the southeast trades blowing above a blue, blue sea.