A couple of pictures I took on my phone whilst out and about this last couple of weeks.

They capture Stevenage in autumn nicely. Being a new town, it has been built with lots of space and lots of trees. You get a strange mixture of rural and urban.

six hills way

One thing you can’t get from these photos is the smell. A few days after I took these, I went for a walk when it had been raining overnight. The sharp, acrid smell of rotting leaves was very strong and very evocative of childhood winter mornings fishing.

I do love this time of year.

fairlands way

The days are grey and the nights are drawing in. It seems incredible that only a month ago I was wearing shorts. To mark the dead days of November, I thought to play something different. I have picked a classical piece.

Classical music reminds me of school days. It was the only place I ever heard it. But I own some now. This being one of the CD’s I bought as a cheap lot a few years back.

Vivaldi’s Four Seasons is one of my favourite classical pieces. It is a very popular. Spring is probably the better known than Autumn.

Four Seasons evokes mixed emotions for me. Parts were played my friend Paul’s funeral. I had known him for twenty years as a hard core Black Sabbath fan. I never knew that we shared a liking for this music until he was dead.

Grey thoughts for a grey November afternoon.

For me October is a personal landmark. My birthday marks the end of the summer and the start of a new year. The mornings are crisp and bright and full of possibilities. Who needs a New Year in the dead of winter?

One of the nicer aspects of October in southern England, is that the sun rises shortly after I do. Living on the eighth floor I get amazing views. I like to watch the sunrise whilst drinking my early morning of coffee.

This morning’s display was exceptional.

6:39 am