Happy Autumn

Happy autumn!

They crackle and rustle, swarming at the behest of the chill north east wind, russet and golden autumn leaves, herded hither and thither across Goring common.

Six am sunlight belies the biting cold of Winter’s advance guard as it probes for defensive weaknesses in my impregnable Goretex coat, warning of much worse to come, in future forays backed by sleet, ice and even snow.

Some people are making a hasty retreat to the travel agents, booking late season exoduses to warmer sanctuaries in the Mediterranean south. Whilst those more inclined to dig in, call up their power companies, with late pleas for the servicing of their central heating boilers. The early morning presence and haste of so many heating engineers vans in the village lanes, is testimony to this outbreak of winter siege mentality.

It’s hard to remember when last I experienced a full northern hemisphere autumn. But the thought, more present in the forefront of my consciousness, is of the inescapable fact that now is the autumn of my life. And although it is essentially the precursor of the season of arboreal hibernation and the death of leaves, it is not a time for sadness.

Sun sets afire the drab forest canopies and blood-red berries provide airborne sustenance for the squadrons of birds massing to migrate to milder climes. Even the bleached, desiccated almost to dust skins of the multi-various leaves, reveal a unique autumnal beauty.





So, let us mourn not the passing of youth and shortening of days. Though my head has long shed its thatch of foliage, never to return and my girth and visage morph daily into the likeness of my father, there is much to celebrate and savour in the autumn of ones years.

I relish, in particular, the mature beauty of my fellow time-traveler, female friends. Their eyes are sharpened-bright with the intelligence of experience, bodies fully deployed, intent on the indulgence of close comfort rather than the vain recourse to the tantalising distancing of speed. How fine are those faces writ large with the tales of yester-years and how wonderful it is to trace with tender touch, the pathways and promise of former, present and future smiles.

Brrrr!! It’s time to return for breakfast to mark the start of yet another day and to raise my coffee cup in a toast to all friends entering and especially those playing in, the final quarters of their grand finals. Here’s to a happy autumn!