This weekend the time sprang forward.  The evenings will be longer now and that leaves more daylight for working in the new garden, or walking down Tinker’s Lane with Holly, the neighbor’s Irish Setter.  But I digress. 

On Saturdays this winter we have found it tough to get going in the mornings.  We end up spending the day hanging out in the house, reading newspapers, and drinking tea. 

When I wake up on Sunday morning I can hardly wait to finish my tea and walk down to the tiny newspaper shop owned by Chaya and Vish.  Every Sunday I am on a mission to buy some of the greatest newspapers known to humankind but I have to get there before the shop closes at 11 AM. 

My two favorites are the liberal papers THE INDEPENDENT (http://www.independent.co.uk) and THE OBSERVER (http://www.observer.co.uk).  Sometimes THE INDEPENDENT is already sold out. 

Of course there are a lot of other papers to choose from like the DAILY MAIL, THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, and THE TIMES.  Some are what the Brits call “the tabloids” because they are more like girly magazines then serious newspapers.  Other papers are more conservative, meaning they take the Tory (in the US these would be the Republicans) stand on political issues.

Each newspaper is stuffed with several magazine-type sections to be savored over a long afternoon of reading.  They have book reviews, TV programming, art reviews, and columns commenting on just about anything.  THE INDEPENDENT has THE SUNDAY REVIEW insert.  Inside you can read about music, world or national politics, world events, food, clothes, and just about anything that catches your fancy. 

One of the best articles in last Sunday’s paper was “FEELS NOTHING LIKE TEEN SPIRIT…The albums chart is filled with some of the least-offensive music ever made and rock critics are wondering what ever happened to youthful rebellion as embodied by punk rock and grunge.  The starts of easy listening see things differently.  Jamie Cullum, Katie Melua, Lauren Waterworth and Michael Buble tell Simmy Richman why they are the revolutionaries.”

How about “DON’T FORGET YOUR FLAK JACKET…Last year, Ben Anderson set off for a holiday in West Africa.  First stop Liberia.  One small problem:  the country was in the middle of a revolution.  Here he introduces the pimps, killers and child soldiers who made it a journey he will never forget.”  This article actually introduces a British Broadcasting Channel (BBC4) TV series “Holidays in the Danger Zone:  The Violent Coast” which in on the “tele” this week.

Or you could savor “THE CHIPS ARE DOWN:  Our national dish is a national disgrace.  And Terry Durack can’t take it any more.  This week he launches a campaign for a new golden age of fish and chips, and asks you to help him find a true high-frying caff “  (I have no idea what caff means and neither does my computer dictionary).

I love the travel sections, packed full of stories and great bargains.  Sports and Money don’t interest me so I usually pass on those, but I read every word of the rest of the newspapers.  Sometimes I feel like I am on overload of information after reading all afternoon.

Today I reached that point earlier then usual after reading about six-year-old Khaled Walweel.  The caption on the oversized photo read:  “Grief of a West Bank mother” and showed a young man carrying the small body of his nephew.  To the side of them two women clung to the boy’s mother holding her back as she threw her arms up in utter despair.   That’s when I put on my jacket, spring weather or not, and took Holly for a walk down Tinker’s Lane.