Autumn

Chris and I have been together for 4 years, and we have many things in common – we enjoy live music, eating out, share a desire to help improve our local community, and both find humour in the strangest things. There are also things that reflect our differences – Chris is much more cautious than me, with a conservative approach that belies his strong Labour values. But there is one area we see very differently, and that is autumn – I have always loved this time of year, whereas Chris quite literally hates it. He views it as the dying embers of summer, with dark days and long cold nights.

Autumn for me is bright and vivid as the trees change colour, their leaves glowing in the light of the late sun; crisp walks in the countryside & glorious sunsets ; making sloe vodka and baking apple & blackberry cake with fruits foraged at the end of summer; eating spicy butternut squash soup and crusty bread while your toes slowly defrost after standing outside for two hours watching our brilliant carnival. I even love dark afternoons walking Whiskey around Barren Down, looking out over Shepton Mallet with its street lights forcing their way through the gloom, a layer of mist settling over the meadows, and seeing smoke from the chimneys as I look forward to a snuggly night in front of the fire. Autumn is the perfect warm up act for Christmas, and I love the anticipation perhaps more than Christmas itself.

I have managed to persuade Chris that there is lots to enjoy, and our joint wicked sense of humour means that we both get to belly laugh our way through Bad Santa each year!