Tradition demands that, as symbols of purity, snowdrops first appear on 2nd of February to coincide with Candlemas, the Christian Feast of Purification. Nothing suggests that snowdrops could be up before year’s end in Scotland. But our finger of rock sticks out into the Irish Sea, and is warmly embraced by the gulf stream.

Spring can be ephemeral, a difficult thing to pin down. Last year it barely lasted two weeks before big coats and jumpers were thrown into the back of the cupboard and the car window de-icer put away. That was a tough winter last year.