Shorter days

After some fair-sized shore breaks over the last few days, and calm air with gloomy cloud cover, the sun is again shining and the mirror-like sea is reflecting blue skies. The sun is moving northwards apace, and the early mornings are dark now, as are the evenings. I am not the only one to complain about the shortness of the days, as it seems we are not ready for winter here in Cape Town, but in truth our winters are brief and we have little to complain about with regard to extremes of temperature.
I think the cause of complaint comes from those of us who have experienced the long summer days of the northern hemisphere, when it is still light around 10pm, and we tend to resent the curtailment of our daylight hours when we return from holiday. Having lived in England as a child for a few years, I also know the other side of the coin, which is going to school in the dark and getting home in the dark, which makes you feel rather like a mole and doubtless accounts for a great deal of depression people suffer. I have always maintained that the reason the British set out to found an empire was simply to get away from the weather - in part, anyway.
We are a few short weeks away from the winter solstice, to be followed by a steady increase in the daylight hours, although winter clouds might rob us of their enjoyment, and before we have even got used to winter, the spring flowers will be out and we will be wondering what happened to those dark days.