It’s raining. The sky is grey, it’s colder than it’s been in days, and it really feels like summer is coming to an end today.
There were signs over the weekend that summer was giving way to autumn, although somehow our barbecue made a miraculous escape. Dark clouds rolled past all afternoon, but rain never fell. There is a saying that has passed down through W’s family for generations - that it will not rain as long as there is “enough blue sky to make a sailor a pair of trousers”. I think the saying held true.
I find myself with mixed emotions, seeing the summer come to an end. I’m naturally an optimistic person, but being surrounded by the inevitable decay over the coming weeks and months, and knowing that bleak landscapes and bitter cold days are approaching makes it hard to be cheerful.
Once winter arrives I will be fine. For those living in hotter climes, it’s very hard to describe the feeling of walking out on a winter’s morning in the English countryside - with the frozen grass crunching under your feet, spiderwebs bedecked with frost along the hedgerows, and clear cold blue skies.
Winter in England means frost, mud, wellington boots, heavy coats, woolen hats, scarves and rosey faces. Hands so cold they hurt as you rub them, and breath that forms steam.