Vernon Equinox

So once again the sun stands over the equator at lunchtime, and it's spring again.

So there we were at a quarter past five, freezing cold, looking up at a blank equinoctial sky. And out of the dark looms a tall bloke.

He says his name is Vernon Equinox - the bringer of balance. I asked - isn't that Cygnus? And he accused me of being an old hippy Rush fan. Which was rather rude, I thought.

Turns out he's ambidextrous, even-handed in dealing with disputes, naturally level-headed and sanguine to the point of boredom. He's the living embodiment of days and nights being in harmony.

Well, anybody who's used to harmony isn't going to cope with Husborne Crawley. Hnaef has just failed - once again - to do his Equinoctial Tightrope Act. Normally he just falls in the duck pond, but on this occasion he landed plum on Vernon's Head. Hnaef's grateful for the soft landing, of course, but poor old Vernon's now walking around in circles. That's nothing like as evenly-balanced in my opinion.