The threshold of gloom

I am a depressive son-of-a-bitch, and thus acutely sensitive to the 'seasonal affective' impact of reduced hours of daylight during the winter months.

But I have realised in recent years that there is a critical threshold for my 'winter blues': as soon as it starts getting dark before 6pm, I start feeling miserable; as soon it starts staying light until 6pm or later, my mood lifts again.

And we've just passed that threshold in Beijing in the last week or two. (Weather Underground tells me the official 'sunset' time is 5.56pm today, but 'civil twilight' is nearly half an hour later.)

There's a spring in my step, a song in my heart, a faint stirring of long-dormant libido in my loins (no, surely not??!!). 

The next three months are usually the best time of the year in Beijing. And I find that I am indeed looking forward to it!