Hi, guys? How are you? I'm very well, thank you.

Spring is properly on its way now and is perhaps nearing its end, even. The glorious weather that we've had since the beginning of the spring hasn't eased up; it's been warm and sunny most of the time. Glorious. Nearly all the trees have had their blossom replaced by leaves now, but there are still a few heavy-blossomed trees about, showering pink petals across the road.

I love spring. Can you tell that I love spring? The daffodils have died down mostly, to be replaced with a carpet of bluebells (if you're lucky). And my daily walk through the park is chock full of birdsong.

What have we done to deserve this year? I don't know! And Easter's next, which means a great excuse to eat chocolate. I love it.

So, what have I been doing since my last post? A few things. Have a rundown:

1. Walks in the sunshine
I went to visit my parents for Mother's Day. We took a mini country walk.

Daffodils in the churchyard where we sat to have lunch.

I think this was the rectory or something next door? It's a private building now, but I snuck a little way into the car park to take a photo of those gorgeous chimneys.

2. TV watching
I've been watching quite a few good things recently. And trying desperately not to get into Masterchef this year. (It just takes too many hours of my life!)

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle
Not everyone likes Stuart Lee, but I think his comedy is great. His delivery is so clever. He's the sort of comedian that can make a three minute silence hilarious.

W1A
This is the new sitcom from the same people that made Twenty Twelve. Since the Olympic Games, Ian Fletcher has gone on to become Head of Values at the BBC. If you loved Twenty Twelve, you'll love this. I, personally, adore the style of it, and as a satire on almost every large organisation ever, it is very clever and very very funny.

The Plantagenets
Professor Robert Bartlett came back with a documentary series about the Plantagenets. I loved his previous documentaries but I actually found this one a little lacking. Don't get me wrong, I learned some stuff (including things about the Wars of the Roses that I really should have known already) but this documentary didn't quite go deep enough for my liking. But then, if you're trying to cover a few hundred years in three episodes, things are going to have to go quickly.

3. And radio
I was reminded of this by one of our volunteers at work. Did you know that the whole back catalogue of episodes for In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg is available to download or stream online? Check it out! There's hours of fascinating stuff in there. Great to listen to when folding laundry or doing other menial tasks.

4. On the blogs
If that's not enough history for you, I've also spent my time reading the blog Food History Jottings. It's written by food historian, Ivan Day, who is someone you'll have seen on TV quite a lot if you happen to like documentaries about food history (I do!). His posts are always really fascinating, with the bonus that he often makes up the old recipes in his gorgeous kitchen (as seen in this post). It's great stuff.

5. The Grand Budapest Hotel
I went to see this film last week with Susan. It was so good! I really really enjoyed it. (I'm planning to buy the DVD when I can.) It's fast-paced and fun and surprisingly funny. Not to mention that the whole thing looked gorgeous with its rainbow-palette of colours. I am becoming a Wes Anderson fan. Also, I kind of want to be M. Gustave when I grow up; able to handle any situation with style while calling everyone 'darling'.

6. Cake time!
I met up with James, Eppa and baby Rene yesterday. We had a lovely, relaxed walk around the park. On the way back we stopped for cakes. Look at mine!

It had lemon curd in the middle, which sadly didn't do enough to cut through the sickliness of all that buttercream and icing. I felt a bit ill. But look how Easter-y and cheerful it is!

7. London Marathon
I toddled off to watch the London Marathon go by earlier today. And what a lovely sunny day it was for it too. I managed to completely miss Susan go by, who I was meant to be cheering on. Whoops. But it was great to see all the other runners too. My favourite might have been the guy running with his own karaoke machine. He was singing Come on Eileen at the other runners. Biggest props, though, go to the guy carrying a fridge on his back the whole way, especially when you find out that the London Marathon is going to be only the first of four marathons he's running today. Whoa. He got such a massive cheer as he went past.

And I think that's about it for me. Have a nice Easter, all! I'll be back with a food post once I've got another couple of recipes under my belt.