 1. One sure sign of the coming of spring was the return of the honourable Mr Claude Adams and his wife to Bodley House, their country home in Derbyshire. There were other signs of course. There were snowdrops and primroses and even a few crocuses in the woods and along the hedgerows beside the road and there were a few shoots of green in otherwise bare gardens. There was a suggestion of green about the branches of trees, though one had to look closely to observe the delicate buds. The air was warmer than it had been and the sun seemed a little brighter. The roads and laneways had dried after the last heavy. The sample complete. Ready to continue?