If you were to ask me what my favourite season was I’d have to say the Spring. I just love it when the daffs come through and the lambs are gambolling in the fields and the canal is festooned with ducklings. I like the sunny days that are just warm enough before the onslaught of summer heatwaves and I love the way everywhere starts to turn green.
Yes, I love it.
A close runner up to Spring, though, is the Autumn and possibly because it is the complete antithesis of Spring. The natural world is slowing down and getting ready for a good rest. My wife loves the Autumn far more than the other three and I can definitely see where she’s coming from.
Despite all that wistful “seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness” cobblers, Autumn is a time of great natural beauty and probably one of my most memorable childhood seasons. I grew up in the English countryside and believe me that out in the sticks Autumn is a whole different ball game.
It’s wonderful.
I remember speaking to a chap in a Bingley Chinese takeaway a few years back and he was bemoaning the way we treat Autumn. It’s almost as if we treat it as a quick stepping stone towards Christmas he argued. And I agreed with him. Christmas products have been in the shops for about a month now and to echo that man’s words – why can’t we have an Autumn anymore?
Let’s have some blackberry crumbles.
Let’s have muddy afternoon dog walks.
Let’s make sloe gin and rosehip syrup.
Let’s carve some pumpkins other than on Halloween, just for fun.
Let’s have proper neighbourly bonfire parties instead of the overpriced organised events.
Let’s have some full roast dinners and a couple of pints of heavy at the pub.
Let’s build hedgehog houses, bat and bird boxes, and insect hotels to help our struggling wildlife.
Let’s go and see the starling murmurations.
LET’S HAVE AN AUTUMN!!!
There, got that out of my system. You see, Autumn can and should be a great time, not a precursor to the December spend fest that Christmas has become.
I’m particularly looking forward to Autumn this year because it’s the season that the next Joe Wilkie novel will be set in and I’m hoping that Autumn itself will inspire me to do it justice. It has to be set in Autumn you see, without giving too much away. It wouldn’t work at any other time of the year. You’ll understand when you read it.
I’m currently two chapters into it and as we are away from Blessham hall next week (cat sitting for friends) I shall take my old laptop and work outside (weather permitting) in their back garden, which is surrounded by trees, a babbling brook, and visited by deer, rabbits, pheasants, and foxes. It should be an inspiring time I hope.
I’ve not had too much time lately to devote to the novel and have snatched a few hours here and there at it, but for October I’m going to go for it with gusto. I want it written quicker than BEASTIE which took about 10 months not including editing. Although obviously I DO NOT want to skimp on the quality of the writing. That’s a cast iron necessity and I would rather wrap my todger in streaky bacon and tease an XL Bully with it than compromise the quality of my work. And this will be the 6th in the Joe Wilkie Blessham series, can you believe it, and it’s as important now as it was when I wrote Ah Boy! to maintain standards. More so even.
Autumn is also the season that I married the woman I adore, my lovely Ange. Now that was a fabulous Autumn day. The Sun was bright, the sky was cobalt blue, and my bride looked utterly delectable. We will be celebrating our 8th (where has the time gone?) anniversary next month and a four-night stay in the Lake District is booked for it. But other than that, I want to plough as much time into G— (whoops, nearly gave the name away there) in October as possible.
Oh, and a quick update on the weight loss journey. Despite having had a somewhat drink fuelled Spanish sojourn recently, I have maintained the weight that I was before I went. Wahey!!!
