1. April Fool's Day jokes are now traditionally played on Boxing Day.
2. You glimpse your first ladybird of the season when it suddenly lands on the marzipan of your festive Yule log.
3. England's cricket team now only has to wait until March 12 to get trounced at the Lord's Test.
4. Senior government officials start losing CDs containing highly confidential personal data on taxpayers a full three months earlier than usual.
5. It is no longer only US Vogue Editor Anna Wintour and Kate Moss who now need to wear dark sunglasses when going Christmas shopping.
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6. Workers start taking their spring break so early that they now just tag it on to their extended Christmas/new year holiday, resulting in the entire country closing down from December 23 to February 16 to go butterfly-spotting in York.
7. Father Christmas decides that, given the balmier weather, it would be more comfortable if he switched his traditional wool-felt outfit for a pair of red cotton shorts and crimson bush-shirt.
8. The traditional springtime house-hunting season leaps forward to January as parents with school-age children vie for homes in streets that qualify for access to a prestigious McDonald's.
9. London Underground decides to bring forward its Spring Excuses Schedule for late-running trains and put it into service from January.
10. When you get them home from the store, you realise the Christmas tree decorations you bought are actually foil-wrapped Easter eggs.
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11. No sooner is Christmas over than MPs start claiming secretarial expenses for “A. Lamb”.
12. Newspaper stories about how spring arrives earlier each year now appear earlier each year.