Major projects run by Swindon Borough Council, such as roadworks, are often given a completion date of a season.

For example,  the council is still saying that the museum and art gallery will be open this spring.

This has sometimes led to confusion - or worse - with residents and the media expecting a project to be completed, while the authority still thinks it’s within its deadline.

Now we know what the council considers to be spring, summer, autumn and winter.

At a briefing about the soon-to-be opened museum and gallery, the cabinet member for heritage arts and culture, Councillor Marina Strinkovsky was sticking closely not an opening date in spring and added: “Spring starts on March 20, and runs until  June 21.”

And on the same day the cabinet member for finance Councillor Kevin Small said the Fleming Way Bus Boulevard project should be opened in summer 2025 and added: “Just to be clear, summer runs until September 21.”

So, now we know that the council calculates spring to run from the spring - or vernal - equinox, to the summer solstice - sometimes known as Midsummer’s Day - in late June.

Summer runs from the solstice to the autumnal equinox in September.

And we can extrapolate that autumn in Euclid Street runs from that equinox to the winter solstice around December 21, and winter from then to the start of spring in late March.