SPRING has undoubtedly arrived early this year….walking back along to the station in Hove to catch the train back to Portsmouth, I could feel the warm air on my face, which is so different from the feeling we encounter on those cold winter days. It’s also St David’s Day tomorrow (1 March), although surprisingly there are so few daffodils around at the moment; for me, the brilliant yellow flowers, interspersed by the white snowdrops and purple and yellow crocuses, are a highlight of the season.

Last year we undoubtedly had superb spring weather, with warm April days that felt like summer, followed by a disappointing summer. But one of the good things about life is that at this time of the year, there is always the optimism of the longer daylight hours, the freshness in the air, and the ever hopeful prospect of a long hot summer around the corner. Of course, with the near drought conditions now covering much of the South and East, we do need some rain....

The months of March and April are also important ones in business planning, with much of the charitable and not for profit sector focusing on setting their new budgets from the beginning of April. And like anyone in most businesses and in the public sector, it continues to be a challenging one, with the national economy continuing to flat line and sources of cheap capital for development scarce and extremely competitive to get hold of. But good opportunities continue to present themselves, and to seize these we must continually review the appropriateness of our offer to the market.

So long term planning is undoubtedly crucial, as is ensuring that the resources are made available to achieve the desired objective, whether these are new products, services or business consolidation in an established market. Over the past nine months, we have been comprehensively reviewing our business plan here at Parity Trust, with considerable amounts of work being undertaken since last summer to redefine our goals and develop a clear narrative for the future. And what is exciting is seeing the results of that work starting to come to fruition, the seeds of ideas having been planted, and nurtured, and now on the cusp of coming to fruition, to bloom in all of the different varieties and colours. Some ideas will blossom with very little encouragement, some will need more assistance, and some will fail to take root. Just ask any gardener who is planning their crop at this time of year.

Enjoy the spring – and happy St David’s Day to our Welsh friends and colleagues!