Light
Gradually, day by day, we are starting to emerge from winter here in the northern hemisphere. And yet the nights remain stubbornly long. We are aware that just round the corner there could be more ice and snow before springtime begins to truly win out in late March. There's a long way to go yet. This current night - January 3rd - will last for some sixteen hours here in South Yorkshire. When you live at or near The Equator, there's little variation in the length of day and night throughout the year. They remain roughly equal - around twelve hours. Never to know the lengthening of winter nights as in northern latitudes nor the summer shrinkage. Never to require much psychological adjustment nor the necessity for seasonal wardrobe changes. The lives of those who of us who live well north of The Tropic of Cancer and way south of The Tropic of Capricorn are deeply affected by annual cycles of light and season that are of little relevance in tropical regions. I am no...
