Sun and seasons

more prepositions : Alastair and Helen are in the dinghy, on Lake Tanganyika, in the the sunshine, on holiday! (you may need to click on the picture to enlarge it for proof of this!).
 After Easter we have had a  lovely 4 days break at our favourtie beach spot on the Lake, together with Alastair's brother Douglas and his wife Elisabeth. While enjoying sun, sand, palm trees, and beautiful warm, clear water for swimming and snorkling, we spared a thought or two for all of you poor, cold people in Britain - and hope that spring will soon come.
The lack of seasons that we are so used to  can be a problem for Europeans when living near the Equator. The weather is of course beautiful, but one misses the variation and anticipation of the seasons at home, where the first signs of spring bring a great feeling of hope, and the darker evenings of Autumn, with the "seasons of mist and mellow fruifulness" bring that cosy feeling of approaching winter. My mother, who lived for several years in Nigeria after the war, saw the lack of seasonal variation as a major cause of the depression evident in many expatriate workers. I can understand it - although it's easy to get up each day in the same cool blouse and skirt,  I have missed a season of boots and gloves; and amidst the abundance of hibiscus, bourganvillias and frangipanis I miss the arrival of the snowdrops and  then the daffodils.