People moan when the clocks go back, mostly I suppose because it indicates the onset of winter, cold, wet days & long dark nights. Me, I like it. I leave the house early to cycle to work, so when the clocks go back I get up when it’s light again, which is much nicer. I also really like this time of year. I look forward to Christmas as a time the family gets together again for fun, and we do the same for bonfire night. On November 5th the whole family and a large group of friends get together for a bonfire & fireworks party at mum & dad’s house. Dad’s firework show is always big & usually hilariously dangerous (don’t put those big multi-mortar boxes on old tables – the reaction force may collapse it & send rockets in quite unanticipated directions). It really is one of my favourite annual events, so shortening days remind me of many, many good times of my past.
The clocks going back also brings dusk & the evening into my cycle home. Cycling by the sea in evening light is a beautiful thing to do. I really should get an ultra-thin Sony camera for my bag to try & capture the colours. Today the sea really was a wintry golden, & everything lit with a new colour. Right now the thickly clouded sky is completely pink, apart from triangles of pale blue left in between. Probably not something so easily appreciated from inside a car.
It also used to be the time of year when racing or hard climbing & training had finished, & I could rest & do other things.
I also love Halloween, as anyone who has seen my desktop pictures & phone themes will have seen. Tonight Kim will have made another of her intricate pumpkins, & I’m looking forward to beer, monster munch & horror films. A perfect evening, except that I’ll have to get up for work in the morning.
So autumn is here & winter is coming. Don’t just take the pessimist’s view of dark, wet, cold & miserable. Look forward to things you enjoy. Hot showers after running through winter rain. Sat by the fire when it’s dark outside. Kicking big piles of leaves. Checking the forecast for snow. Time with your family. January sales. Without the seasons life would be far less interesting. Right?
