Autumn has decided to arrive in rush here in South East England, well, here in my home town of Lewes in East Sussex any way.
There is a slight chill in the air, the skies are blue and it is time to put on that winter coat, to decide whether sun glasses look seasonal or silly with warm clothes and to go for a walk round town.
I am sure this time of year is beautiful in many countries but in my small county town on a day like today, it is possible to feel a surge of patriotic pleasure at the sight of the Union Jack fluttering in the Autumn breeze and to think England is at its best now.
Walking round the Castle precincts there is just enough Autumn colour but the summer was too dry for a long and glorious Autumn.
This surge of red, brown and gold is grand enough though and it is shown off perfectly by our ancient flint walls. I thought I would enjoy it whilst it lasts.
Walking past the allotments though, I feel a twinge of regret that I have decided not to join the elite group of vegetable growers whose patches are still groaning under their weight of produce.
I go past here every day on my way to practise kungfu in the park and envy the owners of that little shed – maybe one year I will weaken and given in to the temptations of growing my own food. Time will tell.
Now though, I am off to London for lunch so I wouldn’t have had time to go out there picking any of those fine looking cabbages – there is, after all, something equally attractive about sitting in a restaurant and enjoying food that has arrived, as if by magic, onto your plate.
See you later!