The Colours of Autumn

We've just had a beautiful stretch of weather here in England with clear blue skies and warm temperatures. It's the hottest start to October that we've had in many many years according to the Met Office.

Whatever the facts we've been enjoying this extra spurt of summer. Yesterday was the last of the warm spell, and as my first day of freedom from the council I decided to enjoy it. My husband had taken the day off work so we took a picnic to Sheffield Park and then wandered around the landscaped gardens to admire the amazing colours of the trees at this time of year.

Our garden at home is full of Michaelmas daisies and rosehips, and yesterday the ivy was graced with red admiral butterflies and numerous honey bees. My husband spend a long time taking pictures - below are a couple of my favourites.

Our fruit and veg have come to their seasonal end, except the squashes which are a little confused by the heat and have begun to grow. We hope to harvest them before the first frost!

Photos my own.

Saying Goodbye II

It's been two years and two months since I left my first proper real-life adult job. And on Friday I left my second.

This goodbye was bittersweet. I have made the right decision to leave, there is absolutely no doubt about it. I intend to write another post on my reasons why. The day was joyful, strange and manic! Here are some recollections of the day:

The night before I had been baking cakes - vanilla cupcakes with choc fudge icing, mini banana breads, and chocolate cornflake cakes (I foolishly burnt my signature chocolate flapjacks, much to my great distress!) - ready to treat my colleagues to the sweet delights once more.

In the morning I placed all the cakes in different tins and boxes and then put them in a large hessian Waitrose bag, and put it by the door ready to take to work. I finished getting ready, only just remembering to pick up the Waitrose bag, and off I went.

I arrived at the office to find a pink helium balloon in the shape of a star tied to my chair, with a farewell message written in silver glitter. It had a charming little bell to weigh it down, which made me jingle like a cat's collar whenever I moved.

The balloon is still bobbing away in the living room at home

Once my boss arrived I was sent on a brief mission across the road to purchase the best sausage rolls in the whole world ever from the local butcher's for a team breakfast. When I got back a set of presents in blue polka-dot wrapping paper were sitting on my desk, along with a card. There were some really lovely messages in the card, some of real thanks for all the work I'd done, which made me smile. The presents were a lovely little notebook and pen for my writing, and a cookie jar with cookie cutters and heart-shaped silicon cupcake cases to encourage me in my baking adventures!

My cute card from my colleagues

So, the morning rolled on. Presents opened, sausage rolls scoffed, post delivered, and it was time to put out the cakes and invite colleagues from across four floors to come and gorge themselves. That's when I discovered that rather than bring the cakes from home, I had brought back all my stuff that I had cleared from my desk and locker the day before! I'd put them in the same style of Waitrose hessian bag!!! Amazingly my boss let me go home to switch bags and I made it there and back in 20 minutes, which was impressive because we are experiencing a heatwave at the moment, and hot weather always slows me down!

The cakes were duly gobbled after that little fiasco, and then I had a 2 hour lunch break in the pub over the road, celebrating with a few old colleagues as well as my team, and some of the Environment and Road Safety chaps who I have worked closest with over the last two years. We sat basking in the glorious sunshine, eating delicious food and chatting about all kinds of things. I really will miss working with those people in particular, so I was glad they came and joined me for a drink.

I then spent the afternoon running around like a headless chicken, ensuring all was neat and tidy, and that I'd made things clear and easy for the newbie and for my colleague who will be covering my core tasks until said newbie arrives.

Before I knew it, it was gone 5. Apparently it is unacceptable to work past that time on your last day, especially when your last day is a Friday...and pay day...and dress down day... Then my boss insisted on taking me for a drink, as she hadn't bought one for me earlier, so I agreed.

I had a quick drink with her and a few colleagues we bumped into at the pub, and then I made my way home, my pink star balloon bobbing behind me, sprinkling glitter all over me every time it bounced off my head.

I had expected to skip out of that place, overjoyed, and thrilled. I didn't. I am thrilled about leaving, I really am. But it hasn't sunk in yet. It feels so surreal, and in my head I still think I'm going back there. I still feel that I have something to do. And a little bit of me is mourning the only piece of work I actually enjoyed doing there - GIS work on historical mapping for the archaeologists - something I wasn't paid to do, that someone of my pay scale is assumed not to be capable of doing, something that I had to engineer and tie in with council policy to be allowed to do it, and then for only one morning a week. This work reminded me that I am capable of so much more than lousy admin, which I was never truly cut out to do anyway, being rubbish at filing and all... I had intellectually stimulating conversations with the archaeologists, and of course we had shared interests. When I did research work for them I felt like I was doing something useful, I was using my brain, and it was like studying, which deep down I do miss. Quite a lot actually.

I will be looking for part-time jobs in the future where I can do something similar, but for now I am going onto something else.

So, I do feel a bit melancholy about that. The current financial climate is just not a good time to work in local government, the promotion opportunities are few and far between, and lots of specialist work is being cut, sometimes completely. I had to get out. There was no question about it.

I know that my time working at the council has been a valuable life experience, not good most of the time, but I have learnt from it, and I hope that it has made me stronger.

I definitely made the right decision to leave, and a little sadness aside, I do not regret it.

Photos my own.

The Spider in the Bath

I don't make my fear of spiders a secret. I am definitely not one of their biggest fans. I feel a little bit guilty about this because they have very bad press and they are good guys really - they eat flies and wasps, which is very welcome indeed, and they also make amazing webs that look especially stunning in morning dew. However, the logical part of my brain just can't win. Each time I confront a spider my phobia is victorious.

The problem has grown slightly worse since we moved house. As we have a tiny kitchen our washing machine lives in a little outhouse at the end of garden which presumably is where the toilet was back when these houses were built in the 19th Century. We lovingly call it the privy. It is with great relief that there is no longer a toilet there and that many decades ago someone converted one of the bedrooms into the bathroom.

However, going to put the laundry on is something of a hazard. For spiders rather love lurking in the privy, and occasionally building vast webs across the old wooden door. Thanks spiders, thanks a lot. Yes, I appreciate the beauty. No, I do not appreciate you blocking my path when I need to clean our clothes!

If there are spiders present, I plaintively squeal to my husband to rescue me and put the laundry on instead. If he isn't around then I have to deal with it. I may sometimes use a twig or similar weapon to persuade the spider to run from the vicinity. Other times I, rather pathetically, have to squirm and hunch into as small a size as my body will let me go so as to not touch the door or walls but be able to reach the washing machine door, lob the clothes inside, and then programme in the settings. I then run for the house, shaking myself just in case any mischievous arachnid chose to land on me at some point in this ridiculous process.

We've had a few spiders inside the house, but nothing too intimidating. That was until the other morning when a massive house spider lay in wait in the corner of our bedroom, positioned just above the sink. I decided to carry on getting ready for work, giving the spider several chances to move and hide so I could pretend it wasn't there. But it just sat there, waiting for me. In the end I had to sneak up to the fireplace, that juts out just beside the sink, press myself against it, and deftly slip my arm around the edge to reach across for the toothbrush and toothpaste, eyes on the spider the whole time, hoping that it wouldn't leap at me and attack! I then hurried off to the bathroom and cleaned my teeth in there instead.

Now the spider has gone. I don't know where. Normally this would bother me. I could never sleep in the same room as a spider before. Yet, no longer being able to see this spider, I am not particularly worried. Is this a sign that my phobia is improving? Or is the fact that I behave like such a freak in their presence mean that there is no hope for me?

It all puts me in mind of the brilliant little song, The Spider in the Bath*, by the comic duo Flanders & Swann. A song my parents introduced to me and that I relate to wholeheartedly. I especially like this verse:

What a frightful looking beast

Half an inch across at least

It would frighten even Superman or Garth!

There's contempt it can't disguise

In the little beady eyes

Of the spider sitting glowering in the bath!

Thankfully I've not been driven to my demise by any spider, but clearly I have been driven to some very silly behaviour.

*Do not watch this video if you are afraid of spiders! It's the only one I could find - sorry! But it is worth opening in another tab and listening to.

A Wet & Wild Birthday

For my birthday this year my husband took me to the Wildlife & Wetlands Trust site in Arundel.

We travelled by train as when you have lots of time it is the least stressful option. The wetlands is a 15-20 minute walk from the station. Raindrops began to pitter patter down on us as we walked down the long tree-lined path, our shoes crunching the many golden leaves that already littered the ground. We were ravenous by the time we reached the wetlands so the first thing we did was order lunch. The cafe looks out over Swan Lake and watched as the ducks and swans swam happily around in the downpour.

What's a little rain to a duck?

Our first stop after food was to be the boat safari but the rain was proving to be unrelenting so we instead we sought shelter by the Icelandic Lake, watching ducks from Iceland - common scoters, harlequins and long tails. The ducks are from Lake Myvatn and are now an endangered species due to dredging of the lake floor for minerals, which has a had a negative effect on the lake's ecosystems. The scoters were really cool. They make a funny cooing noise before soaring through the water.

A common scoter in action!

We spent many minutes watching the ducks before heading back towards the small jetty as the rain had finally stopped. We joined seven others on a small boat along with a guide. The boats have silent motors so as not to disturb the wildlife and thus increase the chances of seeing something up close. After several minutes we spotted a water vole hurrying across the bank and then vanishing into the rushes. Further on we saw one chomping on a reed stalk. Apparently when they are eating they think you can't see them, which allows you to get fairly close as long as you are still and quiet. Sorry, I just have to say that water voles are so cute!

Ratty from Wind in the Willows enjoying lunch :)

After the boat safari we just meandered around the wetlands, stopping by various bird hides in the hope of spotting something special, and otherwise enjoying the wide variety of ducks, swans and geese from around the world. We did spot a reed warbler - such a loud little chirrup for something so diminutive! We also saw a heron being chased by some vicious herring gulls. It looked like the heron maybe had a fish in its beak, and whilst capable of getting their own fish, herring gulls prefer to steal and scavenge, and so we watched them literally 'snapping at the heels' of the poor heron as we were looking out across the Reed Bed (a Site of Special Scientific Interest). The heron eventually disappeared, the gulls swooped after it and then they flew up into the air and back in the direction they had come, demonstrably fish-less. I later learned that herons can land in trees which gulls can't, so presumably the heron managed to land somewhere in the woods and enjoy his fish in peace.

After that drama we checked out some more rare ducks from around the world before meandering through the Reed Bed keeping our eyes pealled for kingfishers. Sadly we didn't see any - their iridescent blue feathers reflect the sun making them easiest to spot on bright days, but by now the sky had blackened considerably and before long the heavens opened and the rain really really poured this time, steady and torrential, combined with strong, chilly gusts. Oh autumn...

The Reed Bed SSSI

Thankfully we soon made it back to the cafe in time for tea and cake, and then delayed our exit by visiting the gift shop. The rain had stopped and so we began our wander back to the station, enjoying the fresh autumn air for at least a few yards. But of course this is Britain and so the rain returned with an even great vengeance. And so we arrived at Arundel Station like drowned rats (or water voles, but I don't think they mind the rain...), mud-splattered, dripping and shivering. Thankfully, at Barnham Station where we had to change trains, we were able to purchase a large steaming cup of tea.

And on the way home we saw a huge rainbow, arched high above the rail track. A beautiful addition to a lovely day and a welcome sight after being drenched to the bone.

The photo doesn't do it justice, it was stunning.

We had just enough time once we were back home to dry and change before heading to our favourite Italian restaurant for an absolutely delicious three-course meal.

A day of adventure with my favourite person, admiring the beauty of God, and indulging in fantastic food. My kind of birthday :)

Photos my own.

Sharing the Chocolate Love

It is a truth universally acknowledged that cake does not last long in an office. At least, it doesn't in my office. It is around for an even shorter length of time if it is of the chocolate variety, as I discovered today.

I had to adhere to that annoying tradition in the workplace - if it is your birthday you have to treat everyone else to cake. This is not a new tradition to me, I've been part of it since I was 2. At playgroup, at milk and biscuit time, if it was your birthday you provided cake for everyone instead of biscuits. The cakes I always had were amazing. They were made by a friend of my mum's, vividly coloured, full of sugar and wonder. My favourite, which I can still remember the smell of, was a cake in the shape of Love-a-lot Bear from Care Bears for my 3rd birthday. Amazing.

Anyway, now I'm an adult the onus is on me myself and not my mum or anyone else to provide cake for my colleagues. This requires considerable effort. Either you spend hours scouring supermarket shelves for the best offers on Mr Kipling's and then still cough up half a month's salary to pay for them, or you slave away in the kitchen covered in flour attempting to 'out-do' other colleagues who must secretly (surely) be related to Nigella Lawson or Jamie Oliver or some other cooking/baking genius. So this year I decided to do what I felt like. I love chocolate and I know what I can make with it, and that's what my colleagues would get, like it or not!

I made my signature, easy-peasy but very delicious, chocolate flapjacks and chocolate cornflake cakes. It's obviously the chocolate that makes them taste so good as they require very little skill to make! I also made some vanilla cupcakes which I then covered with choc fudge icing (licking the saucepan after making that was immensely satisfying). I then had to supplement these with some chocolatey bite-sized snacks from Waitrose as I work with many gannets people who enjoy cake and I didn't have enough time, butter or eggs to make anymore.

To my, admittedly somewhat naive, surprise all of these delights had vanished by lunchtime. I was pleased because they obviously taste all right but quite a few people missed out which means I will have to double my efforts for my last day when more cake shall be required (it's one of those unwritten parts of the contract, or maybe it's somewhere in the font 4 small print *shrug*).

Alas! it seems I am not the only chocoholic in that place. What a relief I'm leaving...

September

September has historically been my favourite month. This is mostly because it is my birthday month, and when I was a child that was obviously of great importance. I also used to love school (primary that is), and relished the return to it after summer. That is of course why so many people despise September, as well as more rain and the coming chill of winter being felt in the air. Even so, September is so often full of bright days, the sky a beautiful blue, the changing colours of the leaves on the trees bringing a vibrancy that cheers as the summer slips away.

As a self-confessed sufferer of SAD I should not relish the signs of the coming winter, but I am one drawn to my own melancholy, and the deep cold of January is still some way off. Autumn can be the start of something new as much as spring can. At church the youth work starts the new term soon with our new youth minister in place, my husband returns to university for his MSc one day a week, and I handed in my notice on Thursday so that I will be leaving my job at the end of the month... There are new starts this September, new adventures beginning, and the month has begun with the sun shining, and the skies a stunning blue.

This September the excitement of my childhood has returned to me, and I want to treasure that, if just for a little while.

A relaxing autumn afternoon at Standen near East Grinstead, September 2010

Photo my own.

The End of Summer

The August bank holiday weekend always signals the beginning of the end of the summer for me, and now I'm counting down the days to September as autumn begins to roll in.

Our bank holiday was very busy. Both my husband and I had the Friday off work too so we cleared out the basement and tidied and cleaned the rest of the house. By late Saturday afternoon the main rooms that visitors see and use were looking good - living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom. The basement was ready for its new task - cider brewing!

Yes, Saturday evening my brothers and the youngest's girlfriend arrived bearing five large carrier bags filled with pears from my parents' garden. One look at the sheer volume of fruit and we decided all we wanted to do was chill out, so we ate pizza and ice-cream, caught up with each other and played Carcassone until it was time to hit the hay.

Next day, the pear preparation (and awful pear-related work puns) began! One brother washed the pears, the other chopped, and my husband sent them through the juicer and into the brewing bucket.

Meanwhile my brother's girlfriend and I set to preparing for the afternoon's tea party - a treat for both my and my husband's families, as a very belated thank you for helping us move house back in March. I baked chocolate flapjacks, and together we made mini scones to be served with cherry jam and clotted cream. She and my brother had already made incredibly delicious lemon & lime cupcakes and a large chocolate sponge. We then also made several sandwiches - ham with lettuce from the garden, cheese and cucumber, and roasted vegetables with houmous, all cut into neat little triangles. Whilst we worked hard at this the men had transformed the dining room into some kind of hideous pear-filled nightmare. Unwanted cores and bits of pulp scattered everywhere. Within an hour, however, the room was looking spotless and the smell of pear (as delicious as it is) had thankfully vanished. The perry-to-be was safely hidden away in the basement, merrily starting to brew. The table was set up with one cake stands and plates of sandwiches, the kettle was on ready to make different pots of tea, and we had just enough time to mess around with a chain mail coif, discovered during one of the earlier tidying sprees!

If the coif fits...

Then my husband's family arrived, shortly followed by my parents, and time to tuck in was finally here! And if I may say so myself it was all rather tasty!

The awesome lemon and lime cupcakes

We spent the afternoon drinking cup after cup of tea and eating lots and lots of sandwiches and cakes, catching up with each other, telling stories and jokes, and generally relaxing. The house felt very quiet after everyone left, but both my husband and I felt strangely serene. I think it was what we needed. Then it was off to church for the evening service, before having a chilled evening watching Lost and eating eggy bread for supper (well it wasn't like we'd eaten enough bread earlier or anything!)

We both slept very well that night!

The bank holiday Monday was a day for just us. A late start, a wander along the river as it wends its way south out of town edging ever nearer to the sea, a windswept picnic on said river banks, an attempt to pick blackberries that were a little too close to the overhead bypass to be safe to eat...

Blackberries signifying that autumn is almost here

The sparkling waters of the river

Then it was back home to more of those wretched pears. We filled a large pot with them and stewed them, then freezing them ready for winter puddings. And there is still half a bagful left, argh! Forget zombies, pears have been invading our house! Still, we're hoping the perry brewing works and that we will be enjoying some fine and tasty cider in time for Christmas.

In the meantime though, as it's now feeling distinctly autumnal, and summer is well and truly coming to its end in Sussex, I think I shall have a cup of tea to warm the cockles.

Photos my own.