Awesome Autumn

Photograph courtesy of Elisa Tomassi

Despite the fact I’m a summer baby and love nothing better than sunshine beating down on my bare skin, I’m rather taken with autumn.  I love the turn of colour in the leaves, the gusts of wind that steal my hat and give me earache, the scurrying of squirrels hastily storing food for the oncoming winter, the leaf litter piling up ungathered on my unkempt lawn.

But these are only a smattering of the reasons why I think autumn is awesome.  Here are a few more.

I start looking longingly at my winter wardrobe and anticipate the hats and scarves I’ll soon be able to reclaim from my accessories shelf. Many are birthday gifts from friends and others are gifts I gave myself.  I love a new hat or two.  And then there’s the jacket I bought while in Edinburgh in September.  I’m on tenterhooks as I wait for the weather to turn cool enough for me to don this fabulous garment.

Then there’s the steamy baths after a day of tutoring or writing.  I choose the aromatherapy oil most in favour that day, sink in to the tub with a good book to hand, unsteam my glasses and settle in till I’m all pruny.  The orchids who are permanent residents of the bathroom also seem to approve of this particular regime.  Sometimes, when I’m feeling particularly anarchic, I languish in the bath – wait for it – in the MORNING if I don’t have any tutoring or am suffering from admin procrastination.

And then there’s hot chocolate and Milo.  I’m personally more of a fan of Milo but keep a stock of hot chocolate in the cupboard for friends and family.  Let’s not forget the hot toddies and the mulled ginger wine.  This of course reminds me that with Christmas on its way there’ll be even more of an excuse for mulled wine and cider.  Not that I need much excuse for that.  This is the only time of year when my alcohol intake goes up considerably and that’s saying something as I barely drink at other times of the year.

Another thing about this time of year; it heralds the start of engrossing drama on telly.  In October I couldn't get enough of The Great British Bake Off, Poldark, Ripper Street, Our Girl, Cleverman…  Well, the list goes on and on.  That’s only on the Beeb.  I haven’t even touched on what’s available on Channel 4, starting with Humans.  And if anyone thinks The Great British Bake Off is not a drama then they clearly haven’t watched it.  



If you're wondering why I’m not naming any Sky/Virgin/Netflix programmes that’s because I don’t subscribe and if I did I’d become permanently glued to my sofa and never do a solitary bit of writing.  At any rate, it’s easy to see how I regularly have to force myself off the sofa to tango classes and milongas.  I can tell you, with all this temptation on the box it’s a tough ask.

Well there you have it.  These are only a small percentage of the reasons I think autumn is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME.  To know the rest you’d have be totally crazy enough to be a part of my family or a bosom pal.  And let’s face it – not everyone is that crazy.