A blackbird landed on my balcony railing 10 minutes ago, and it's sitting there not 2 metres away me from singing its little heart out. If it's hoping to attract a mate, maybe it should look for a spot lower down, in my neighbours' gardens, where its chances of success may be greater. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying this private aubade.

Over the past week, on my way to work, I've noticed two things: one, that it gets light about halfway through the commute, and two, that there's hares frolicking in the fields. Spring has definitely arrived, although at the moment it's still mostly a grey and wet one.

I went out and got myself a 500Gb external hdd, and tonight, I will see about getting it to work. The package promises that it's plug & play which means even an idiot such as me should be able to set it up in no time, and then my pc will hopefully start to behave much better.

Dad seems to have reconciled himself to his upcoming move, though he is a bit upset that he won't be allowed to take his own bed with him. Or his antique cupboard. Or any of his furniture except for his new chair, really...and I can well understand and sympathise. I shudder to think that the same fate may await me too 30 or 40 years from now.