Homeless in Vancouver: Nothing brings out the colours of spring like a dull grey day

Grey is what’s called an achromatic colour–literally a colour without colour. In nature it is the colour of a cloudy sky or, to be more specific, the colour last Wednesday (April 5), in Vancouver.

That morning, for example, I watched a long procession of dark grey clouds slide silently and majestically westward across a light grey sky, which was finely etched by silver-grey spring rain.

At street level the backdrop was likewise grey, with grey buildings, grey sidewalks and grey pavement.

Colour was in the foreground details—in store awnings and signage, in bobbing umbrellas and in the slick bodies of motor vehicles. It was also in the many hues of light that shine and glint and reflect along a wet city street such as West Broadway.

Particularly eye-catching were the flashes of yellow and orange taxi cabs which fluidly darted like tropical fish among the slower monochromatic flow of mostly silver, black and white SUVs, sedans and pickup trucks.

But the essence of colour through-and-through were the spring flowers in riotous full bloom in private yards and gardens and street planters across the city.

Intense yellow daffodils, narcissus and jonquils and electric blue crocuses—to name the few flowers that I recognize—were everywhere I looked. And tulips were just beginning to reveal their infinite chromatic variety.

And cherry blossoms were blossoming on the side streets and it was almost time for hedges across the Fairview neighbourhood to burst forth with the vivid little white flower clusters which fill the alleys with such a sweet fragrance.

Grey may not be many people’s favourite colour but I have to admit that it does a rather good job at this time of year of showcasing the fresh new colours of spring.

It does, that is, when we can see anything through the inevitable curtains of spring rain.