The Spring deferred

I have commented often that the arrival of Spring in Beijing is one of the most consistent features in this bewilderingly inconstant city. No matter how wildly the temperatures may yo-yo through February and March (and they do, they do)..... properly, enduringly warm weather and opening blossoms always turn up on the last Sunday in March. I'm pretty sure they have done so every year I've been living here.

But not this year. Oh no. The weather has been arse-freezing again for the past few days, and the trees have all pulled in their buds.

The 5-day forecast suggests that temperatures might be creeping back into the 70s by the weekend, but it'll be pretty darned cool until then, and for the next 2 or 3 nights at least we can expect to be suffering frost and bitter winds.

This is disturbing, unnatural. It is difficult not to imagine baleful portents in it.