Reasons for optimism and hope in this Easter of 2022

It is a late Easter this year, so we are now right on the brink of summer.

After this holiday weekend, there will be two bank holidays in May, after which the July fortnight will be near.

Easter is a an optimistic time in the calendar, both because it is spring — with the renewal of growth and the natural life cycle — and because of the remarkable Easter story, of resurrection.

It is now more than two years since the first Covid lockdown, and society has changed in ways that will take years to fully understand. But, amid real economic and political problems, there is much to be grateful for in April 2022.

While the horror of war continues to be waged in eastern Europe, even so there are reasons for hope. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not been the walkover Moscow seemed to hope.

Here in NI, there is ongoing political division but if London is as adamant as it says that the protocol is unacceptable, the EU might move after the election.

Meanwhile, employment levels in the province are surprisingly high after the economic battering of the protocol.

Ulster is expected to have a busy Easter. Normal life is returning as the pandemic wanes, and travellers are back.

NI expats always seem to have a soft spot for home, wherever they end up in the world. And many of them are now able to return to visit the old country again.