Scotland is famous for many things. Tartan, whisky, deep frying anything we can get our hands on, crap weather…

Fortunately, after a winter that’s lasted for several years and a snowstorm so bad it shut down the country, it’s starting to look like spring. How can I be sure, when I live somewhere you have to dress for all four seasons in one day? Well, I’ll tell you!

It hasn’t snowed for over a week

Particularly relevant this year. Scotland has a reasonably temperate climate at the best of times, and I live on the coast so it’s even milder, but it snowed this year for longer than I can remember. Now the temperatures are consistently above zero! Nothing is frozen! SPRING.

Oh Beast from the East, I do not miss you.

I’ve turned the central heating off

IT IS REAL. As someone who likes the house to be roughly the surface temperature of the sun, you know the seasons are changing when I turn the heating off for good. I’m sure the people who come round to visit and end up sweating profusely on my sofa are glad.

It’s sunny, cold and windy instead of cloudy, cold and windy

Before lambs, leaves and daffodils, spring is here when the sun reappears and the country either whips off their shirts or crumbles into dust. It has happened (finally), and the temperature is starting to hint towards double digits, but make no mistake: it’s still freezing. It’s Scotland, of course it is.

I’m not scared to pee at work

My office may have a dog, but I’ll tell you what it doesn’t have: central heating. I am delighted that the temperature is increasing purely because I don’t have to wait until I’m cultivating a kidney stone to brave the toilet.

And, in that vein…

It’s time to stop wearing thermals

I came to this decision after dragging myself up the hill after work yesterday, sweating profusely. Now that I’m not attempting to set myself on fire with the aforementioned propane heater, it might be time to scale back the layers.

The last Christmas song has been removed from my playlists

There’s always one I forget in the January purge. This year it was Ring Out Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull.

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Spring is here! As we say in Scotland, taps aff. Enjoy the heatwave that’s apparently happening.

Not here, of course. We’ll settle for moderate cloud.