Autumn Meme

Welcome to South Manchester where autumn has kicked in and, although the weather is still reasonable, the temperature is dropping and more rain is coming. The nights are drawing in and my 6am morning walks are in the dark. The good news is that I usually catch a decent sunrise at this time of year, if the clouds decide to dissipate enough for me to see the sun.

Talking of autumn, let’s look at this week’s Sunday Stealing, which is entitled “Fall Meme”. I assumed that it was all about falling over, something I haven’t done for years, and only then when I was slightly inebriated. I assumed that it would be about how many times and how spectacularly you have fallen over in the past.

But then I realised that by “fall”, my American friends mean autumn. 

I’ve never really understood how “fall” has managed to stick around across the pond as a replacement for the season after summer. Yes, strictly speaking the leaves do fall from the trees at this time of year but to call the whole thing “fall” is perplexing to me, a simple Englishman. 

I will of course answer the questions but, being the pedantic English person I am, I will extend my spelling corrections from beyond “favorite” to “favourite” and “color” to “colour” to include the change from “fall” to autumn”.

I apologise for this but I am slightly OCD when it comes to English. I annoy Mrs PM constantly but particularly so when watching American programmes on TV – especially when somebody says “math” instead of “maths”!

I will stop babbling now – let’s just answer the questions, shall we?

1. Favourite autumn holiday: 

In the UK we don’t have any official holidays during autumn. The last public one is in August and we have to wait until Christmas before the next ones. That said, there is nothing to stop us from going on holiday during this season. In fact, in some ways it is better because in southern Europe it is still warm but not oppressively so like it can be in summer. We have just been to Greece, just at the start of autumn and I am going to Copenhagen in a couple of weeks, where the weather will be similar to that of the UK.

2. Best thing about autumn walks:

I walk between three and four miles every day if I can and, as I said, this is usually in the early morning on a school day. At this time of year, if the weather is right, I can watch the sun rising as I stroll. I love sunrises and sunsets. Also, in autumn, the temperature is usually cooling to a point where it is ideal for walking and added to that, as the weeks go on, the leaves on the trees change colour before they fall off the branches and that can look quite beautiful.

3. Favourite autumn chore: 

I have no favourite chores at any time of the year so there is nothing I can say to this one.

4. Least favourite autumn chore: 

Cleaning up leaves. So annoying.

5. Best change in the home: 

My favourite season is summer and autumn marks the end of that period, with darker nights as winter approaches on the horizon. Nothing changes at home apart from the energy bills start to increase and it gets darker earlier. These are not good changes. I do like the fact that the football season arrives though, which means watching more games on TV.

6. Best tree in the autumn: 

Any tree whose leaves turn red or orange.

7. Autumn ritual: 

I don’t have an autumn ritual. Maybe starting to consider where we will be travelling to the following year.

8. Most frustrating thing about autumn: 

I think I answered that above. Autumn marks the end of summer for another year. 

9. Favourite autumn decorations: 

We don’t have any decorations for autumn. All that comes when Christmas arrives.

10. Favourite clothing: 

I am guessing you mean “favourite autumn clothing”. Again, I don’t have any. I tend to change from T-shirts and polo shirts and start to wear shirts instead and even jumpers towards the end of the season. I have no favourites.

11. Traditional autumn candy: 

I rarely eat sweets (candy). 

12. Favourite sound: 

There are no particular sounds of autumn that leap out as a favourite.

13. When does autumn begin for you?

We usually head to southern Europe in September (lockdown permitting) and for me autumn starts when we return from that. 

14. What is your favourite aspect of autumn? 

My birthday is in autumn so I guess that I can say that it a fairly good aspect of the season. The problem is that it means I am a year older and since my mid-thirties I have stopped counting them.

15. What is your favourite autumn memories?

My favourite memories of autumn are when I am out of the country in a warmer place. If we head east or south on a long haul trip it will either be in spring or autumn. Sadly there isn’t one this year but we have plans for that in the future. 

16. What do you like to drink in the autumn?  

I drink the same in autumn as I do the rest of the year typically.

17. What's your favourite autumn food?  

I eat pretty much the same food all year round. I guess in autumn though we tend to start eating more soup, casseroles and warm stodgy food that we don’t eat in summer.

18. What colour is autumn?

Autumn is a red/orange colour with the leaves from the trees and the sun rising in the morning when I walk.

19. What does autumn smell like? 

In the earlier stages, autumn smells a bit like summer but as it progresses and the leaves start to accumulate on the ground, this dissipates into boring dampness. Thankfully there are still traces of summer at least for another couple of weeks.

20. If you could go anywhere in the autumn, where would you go?  

Somewhere warmer. It would be southern Europe (France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta) or further afield to the far east.