The rain came down on Birmingham streets in a slow, grey drizzle and elsewhere the plant world responded with a glorious burst of fertile green and an eruption of lilac, the flooded grasses evicting fat earthworms for strutting crows and sharp-eyed magpies to pull forth like noodles from the rich soil. On our first full day here, the eating and drinking has begun, the unwinding is slow and steady, and I reconnect happily to my extended family and hope for some peace and healing.