Vernal Equinox focuses on a feature of Gallifreyan society that I have touched on before. They don’t have religion, so their year is not divided as ours is by festivals such as Christmas and Easter – or indeed the festivals of other religions and cultures on Earth. Rather, they mark the year by the seasons. They mark the winter and summer solstices, and the equinoxes.

I made the spring equinox a time for coming out balls for young Gallifreyan ladies. That seemed like the sort of thing that would go on then. The Vernal equinox is something closer to harvest festival. I thought back to my primary school days at Canberra Road school in Leyland, where harvest festival was always quite a big deal. There was a church service in one of the town churches, with loads of collected food gathered around the alter, along with sheaves of corn arranged ornamentally, and a day or so later the food was sorted into baskets that we school children took to the elderly of the neighbourhood.

That idea of youth and age coming together, and offerings being made, was the basis of the Vernal Equinox. The young people of the Lœngbærrow demesne are presented to the elders – Kristoph and his father – and offerings of things like Cúl nuts and flowers are brought. A simple little ceremony but an important one because it emphasises that paternalistic feudalism of rural Gallifrey. Kristoph, as patriarch of the House of Lœngbærrow is responsible for the well being of all the children of the workers and tenants on the land and in the mines. He takes care of the career prospects of the more able of those children, offering them a way out of their serfdom if they are prepared to work at it.

It’s also a time of reflection for Marion, as she considers her pregnancy and what it will mean for her. Of course, history has already been written and we know this pregnancy isn’t going to come off well, but for now she is happy.