There’s a whole language and meaning to the practice of giving flowers, as Vanessa Diffenbaugh explored in her wonderful novel. Or Caitlin Moran said in an open letter to young girls in her column for The Times, ‘Buy flowers …blossom – and put them at the end of the bed. When you wake, look at it, and tell yourself you are the kind of person who wakes up and sees flowers. This stops your first thought being, “I fear today. Today is the day maybe I cannot survive anymore,” which I know is what you would otherwise think. Thinking about blossom before you think about terror is what girls must always do. Various studies show the health benefits of flowers, from the anxiety soothing fragrances, make you feel more positive about your home and space, encourage connection with nature and boost self-compassion.

The big bunch of oriental pink lilies, charming roses, lush green leaves, all dusky pinks, simmering amaranth and rich cerise, that sits at my desk right now makes me feel happy and alive. But it’s not just young girls who need this lift. It’s not just girls who need blossom in their lives. So this spring share flowers with your mum, celebrate a birthday, or just say thank you. I’m also a big believer in treating yourself, just because. The simple things can be the most magical.

Becky Glass

It’s hard to charm a selfconscious crowd, let alone one the size of a modest birthday party. But the Guillemots cast a spell every time they appear live, and their performance for the Hard Rock Café’s 40^th anniversary was no different.
This was no exceptional venue – it was a little too staged and sincere – but the band radiate talent, from frontman Fyfe Dangerfield, a vortex of charisma, to the button-clad Aristazabal Hawkes, the six-instrument-playing bassist; somehow they made it intense rather than awkward.
New songs earned impressed murmurs, and classics bristled with life like the first time they’d ever been played. A run of new and old tunes ended in a rip-roaring pop belter and a sultry, intense finale; the crowd, all prepared to play cynical spectators, were grinning from ear to ear.
From the primary-colour piping on Fyfe’s jacket to the in-jokes going back and forth on stage, the Guillemots are so fun because they are so into what they do. They very clearly, very passionately, believe in music. It’s a (surprisingly rare) quality, which seems to make everything fall, beautifully, into place.