John Pilgrim - How can anyone think of spring cleaning when the sun is shining?

They make you realise that the windows need cleaning and the whole house could do with a bit of a shake and vac!

Suddenly you notice that you need to vacuum behind the sofa and TV and that perhaps the curtains could do with a trip to the cleaners and the dog needs a hair cut.

The worst thing of all is to take a look into the mirror first thing in the morning and, just for a minute, think that they woke up the wrong person.

Just lately I have been in a bit of a rut. I take the dog for a walk twice a day, do a bit of necessary shopping and watch TV.

The good weather has convinced me that there are better things to do in the afternoons than watch Pie in the Sky and Midsommer Murders repeats (although I do enjoy both series), so I have purchased a large tub of paint, a couple of new brushes and a paint roller.

All I have to do now is to decide on a date for the redecoration of the house and that’s not as easy as it seems.

There is of course the dog to walk twice a day and then there’s the shopping and a brief chat with my neighbour.

I also like to pop over to Hertfordshire to see my sister June and then there’s my brother George to keep up with as well.

So this afternoon I’m popping out to the garden with a glass of wine to mull things over and to set myself a date for big spring clean.

It might work but there again there’s the Sunday Express crossword to finish first and I’ve promised myself to look up some new cookery ideas on the computer – that might take some time.

I think that maybe I will set aside some time to prepare a list of spring cleaning jobs to do and then think about a starting date after that.

My goodness the garden is looking good in the sunshine how could anyone possibly think of work on day such as this?

And where is that crossword?