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The last two days have been a weekend of family fun. To celebrate Mother’s Day, we shared our time between our loved ones.

Saturday saw us head up to Lowestoft, through the pretty Suffolk villages that dot the tree-lined A12. Marking the special day with my family, we walked in parks, stood on windswept and wobbly jetties, and admired the river views in Oulton Broad, before enjoying a blue cheese and walnut pasta supper. A very slow game of Scrabble rounded off the day; it was one which I was never going to win, only managing to notch up merely half of the winning score.

A larger than planned haul of my belongings from the loft (more of which another time), ensured the car was fuller on the way home than on the journey up. It was nice to get them home though, and rediscover a few long-forgotten gems among the seemingly endless boxes we’d unloaded.

Sunday was a double celebration with Nik’s family in Galleywood. Not only was it Mother’s Day, but also his mum’s birthday. A fun day of family catching up, yummy food, horse feeding, and game playing (with lots of laughing) left us tired, but relaxed and happy.

Even my new-found feline friend at Ipswich Town football ground got a tickle, as I walked home from the train station late this evening. He ran behind me down the road tonight, obviously in need of someone to cuddle.

So, another fun and enjoyable two days, where, this weekend, doing the simplest things with family gave the biggest rewards.

And, with two special mums celebrated, and Nik’s pregnant (and still-larger) sister Sal due to give birth in a few short weeks, ‘mum’ has definitely been the word for the last two days.

I’ve not been a member of a library for years. Not since I was at school-leaving age I should imagine, which was half my lifetime ago. So, I wasn’t expecting that much when I thought about rejoining recently.

Libraries seem much nicer places to be these days. Or at least the one in Ipswich is. Airy, bright, friendly, and housed in an interesting old building with character in the town centre, I was pleasantly surprised when I called in to pick up a handful of books a few weeks ago.

Once my selection had been made, it only cost me 50p to rejoin and get my new card. Just like a bankcard, a PIN number is also chosen, as an added security measure. Amazingly, I was surprised to learn that I was still on the Suffolk County Council library records database, from my former borrowing days in Lowestoft. Some things have remained the same; up to six books can be borrowed for three weeks, by which date they must be renewed or returned.

Now, all that was surprising enough, but the best bit was yet to come.

It seems that libraries (at least those in Suffolk anyway) have noticed that people have busier lives than sixteen years ago. I was told by the librarian that books can be renewed in the time-honoured way, by bringing them back in to be stamped, or if their lending spell with you has finished, can be dropped off in a special area.

But, they can also be renewed over the telephone by calling a special number. Or (and this is where it get really interesting) loans can be renewed over the internet. For me, this totally blows my rather naive and old-fashioned fuddy-duddy image of the library out of the water, and revolutionises my previous thinking.

If you think about it, the library service is the ideal organisation that benefits from having an online element. Twenty-first century life is ever-more demanding, heavy books no longer have to be taken back to the library to be renewed, and it’s just one more job that is made much easier by having a technological shot in the arm.

Books can also be reserved, and titles can even be suggested, if they are lacking from the lending catalogue, which can also be checked online.

So, it seems that through borrowing modern technology, libraries really have lent themselves a new and worthy lease of life.

What a difference a change in weather makes. The last two days have seen some glorious sunshine, and coupled with cold early daylight hours and much later twilight hours, can only mean one thing: spring has finally sprung.

I’ve had at least two very pleasant walks back to Liverpool Street from Holborn this week to ride the train home. Cast in shadows from the sun and the other buildings, even the bleak towers of the Barbican took on a romantic air. Overhead, white, puffy cotton wool-like clouds punctuated the bright blue skies, and made the longer still brighter evenings seem ever closer.

It’s been brighter in the mornings too. I’ve been leaving the flat just as the sun was rising, and it’s been shining very brightly over the tiny boats and rushy grass by the time we’ve reached the Manningtree and Mistley estuary. Zizzing down to Chelmsford, the radio communications mast has been very visible, even peeping through the trees and undulating countryside just past the golf course.

The City has seemed more welcoming too. The birds are more vocal, and people’s moods seem lifted.

It’s been a gradual process of course, and has seen lots of the natural world very confused. Crocuses and snowdrops have been in bloom much earlier, and I’ve heard birdsong at midnight at least two nights recently when walking home from a late night out in town.

But, at last, spring seems to be rubbing its eyes, yawning, and awakening from its winter slumber.