I wrote recetly that four is not really a sufficient number for seasons, with mid-March, for example, being neither spring proper nor late winter, but something in between. And the spring's true heart also does not fit with the traditional versions. As far as I am concerned, spring in southern England, where I live, begins this Sunday, 15 April.

It's nearly here, the best-loved sound of spring, the double note of the cuckoo: in fact, it's in southern Spain, on the last leg of a 4,000-mile journey from Central Africa.

Let the bright one in. Blanchett sizes up the London stage

Norwich 2 Bolton 0

Researchers track five birds on their 3,000 mile journey to same area in central Africa

The brothers have taken the business of acquiring meat into their own hands. Jamie Merrill joins them in the hunt.

Scottish Ballet's appearances at the Edinburgh International Festival are big occasions: they are both at home and on an international stage. This year, they unveiled a world premiere and their first performances of one of Kenneth MacMillan's best-loved works. The dancers rose triumphantly to these challenges.

A father and his stepson were lucky to escape after their hot-air balloon smashed into houses in Bristol.

Keith Senior's long career at Leeds is over, but he is likely to carry on elsewhere in Super League.

Wildlife charity the RSPB is urging the public to provide fresh dollops of mud in their gardens to help birds struggling to build nests in the dry spell.