Ben Lowry: The days are already getting shorter yet the turn was not so bad this year

The days have been getting shorter since last weekend.
Castlerock beach in fine weather on May 31, as months of lockdown was beginning to ease, and at the end of the best May on recordCastlerock beach in fine weather on May 31, as months of lockdown was beginning to ease, and at the end of the best May on record
Castlerock beach in fine weather on May 31, as months of lockdown was beginning to ease, and at the end of the best May on record

It is that time of the year when I try not to think: ‘This is the start of six month descent into darkness.’

Summer solstice usually comes round with unwelcome speed.

But for me it seemed slower this year because lockdown seemed to last for a long time, and it meant that I was working each day from a room that gets so much daylight I have to pull down the blinds in sunshine.

People enjoy Crawfordsburn country park on June 3, after a spell of particularly warm and sunny weather.
 Photo by Presseye/Stephen HamiltonPeople enjoy Crawfordsburn country park on June 3, after a spell of particularly warm and sunny weather.
 Photo by Presseye/Stephen Hamilton
People enjoy Crawfordsburn country park on June 3, after a spell of particularly warm and sunny weather. Photo by Presseye/Stephen Hamilton
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I did not need to wait for weather data summaries to know that it was the best consecutive April and May of my lifetime in Northern Ireland.

It is rare to get single months that are as good as either of those two have been, let alone two together. I unhappily remember the May of 1989 when I had a major sixth form project to complete, and outside, as the days passed and I continued to procrastinate, I could see people basking in the fine weather.

It all ended in last minute cramming and sleepless nights. I remember once falling asleep around books, then waking at about 5am to weather that was already perfect outside, but with a day of grim and intense indoor study ahead.

This May was even better than that (it was the best on record) and April was almost as good.

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And so the solstice does not seem to matter so much this year.

In very sunny climates such as Spain it matters less when the days get shorter. This is because, when you are much closer to the equator, the days never get as short as in NI, but also because the weather there is so hot even in October that night time comes almost as a relief.

This year the Northern Ireland weather made the dreaded June turn in the days seem to matter less too.

Ben Lowry (@BenLowry2) is News Letter deputy editor

• Ben Lowry: Weak planning in NI no match for a China that discards niceties

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