Autumn has definitely arrived. After a long, slow, extraordinarily mild to warm few weeks, temperatures have been dropping and the leaves have almost finished scattering themselves to the four corners of the garden. Even a touch of ground frost the other morning, I am told by our resident early morning dog walker. I do quite enjoy the fresh feel of a crisp autumn day but the increasingly early arrival of darkness is a drag.
Monday, of course, was Halloween and the annual Moreton Pinkney Garden Club Witches’ Coven made its now-regular appearance. It started off during lockdown when the children were not allowed to go trick or treating. The Garden Club members decided to hold a Halloween event for the kids and, the first year, they held it in the bus shelter opposite our house. The children could “fish” for sweets from a large caldron and there were cakes and mulled wine for the grown-ups. For the past two years the coven has been held under a lovely, large oak tree on the lower of the village greens and this year it was better than ever. More children, more adults, more games for the children – apple bobbing, pin the cat on the witch’s broomstick, a hunt for creepy-crawly creatures and mummifying your friend by wrapping them in toilet tissue. Great fun and thankfully the weather co-operated – it held off raining until almost all the clearing up had been completed.
Can you spot Jessie and/or Penny?
Penny and I had lunch with some friends from the gym the other day and very pleasant it was. As you probably remember, we relinquished our gym memberships when lockdown commenced and bought ourselves a fancy exercise bike instead. So, we’ve not been back to the gym since then. Similarly, the husband of the couple with whom we ate has been a bit poorly and he hadn’t been to the gym in about a year. During the meal he announced that he was determined to get back to it so I volunteered to join him for a session on Wednesday which was good fun. It was lovely to see many “old” friends and thankfully, the work I’ve been doing on the exercise bike has been sufficient that I coped with the rigours of the class reasonably well. I think I’ll try to join him once a month or so, just for the comradery.
And speaking of spinning and/or cycling, I finished Stage 17 of my virtual Tour de France on Thursday, from Saint-Gaudens to Peyragudes. A mere 320 miles or so to go! I should make it to Paris by the end of the year.
I am afraid Daisy has acquired a new nickname. While we used to refer to her as “Daisy Down!” in her early days, that aspect of her behaviour is significantly improved. She still jumps up occasionally when she’s very excited but, on the whole, she’s pretty good at not jumping, particularly when young children or older adults are involved! However, I was walking her across one of the adjacent fields the other day when she suddenly saw a rabbit and set off like a rocket in pursuit. I was fairly confident she wouldn’t be able to catch it – how mistaken I was. Not only did she catch it but she managed to dispatch it in a matter of moments by employing the instinctual shaking. So, I’m afraid to say that she’s now embarrassingly referred to as Daisy the Rabbit Murderer.
While she was chasing and ultimately dispatching the rabbit, I was halfway across the field yelling in my most authoritative bellow – Daisy! Daisy! DAISY!!! all to no avail. It reminded me of the poor chap who was walking his dog one day amongst the deer in Richmond Park:
Thursday evening was Film Night in Moreton Pinkney and this time Penelope and I remembered! The choice of film had been kept a surprise on this occasion so we went across not knowing what to expect but looking forward to meeting up with friends and a fish and chips supper. I was half expecting something with a spooky theme as it was Halloween week – something like Edward Scissorhands, perhaps? In fact, it turned out to be the original The Italian Job with a very, very youthful Michael Caine. I’m sure most if not all of you have seen it at some point or other but it was astonishing to me how little I remembered apart from the music and the chase through the traffic-snarled city of Turin. Good fun and the fish and chips were splendid.
And finally, Susie Dent’s Word of the Day on Saturday was ‘huff-cap’ (1600s): a headstrong swaggerer; one who blusters into situations and frequently creates chaos. Hmm, I can think of a number of folks to whom that would apply.
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, be careful, wear a f**king facemask in crowded places and keep your distance. And keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg