Star Comment: A brighter future on all fronts
Once the sunshine starts to peek from behind the clouds, everything looks better and spirits are lifted.
It applies to the economy as much as the weather, because there is a surprising link between the two.
April was the sunniest on record. It seems that once the rays of sun fall on us, we get the urge to shop, as the month also saw Shropshire's retailers enjoy a significant boost in sales.
Latest unemployment figures are adding to the cheer as they show in Shropshire Council's area, the number of people claiming jobseekers' allowance is the lowest for 10 years. In Telford there has also been a drop in the number of people claiming benefit, with 1.8 per cent of the working population making claims.
To put that into some sort of historical context, cast your mind back, if you will, to the early 1980s, when over 20 per cent of Telford's workforce was unemployed.
There will be some people who take a sceptical view of these statistics. Over the years there has been a lot of moving of goalposts and the employment environment is so diverse that there is room for debate over what constitutes a job these days.
For those who do not believe in the drip, drip, drip of good news, there is a problem, because the good news keeps on coming. The new MOD Donnington development holds the promise of hundreds of new jobs, or secured jobs, and on the retail front Primark is coming to Shrewsbury.
David Cameron and the Conservatives have been elected to office because voters believe, all things considered, that the economy is safer in their hands than in the hands of Labour. It was a card which was played again and again during the election campaign. We're getting the economy back on track at last after Labour messed it up, they said.
Don't let Labour mess it up again, was the message.
Politically, the Tories have a clear run for the next five years to show what they can do when they are not constrained by the compromises of coalition. The opposition is in disarray.
They now have a duty of care to ensure that the economy continues on its upward trajectory. They promised a future of economic stability and recovery.
Having endured the austerity years and having put their faith in the Tories, those proverbial hard-working families will hold them to those promises.
