THE JOYS OF AUTUMN

It is a time of beauty and completion, of harvests safely gathered in; our bard Keats sang its praises:

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

Our gentle idealisation of the season, our rose-tinted-spectacles-view is supported by Harvest Festival displays of homely satisfaction.

 

                                                                    The Richness of Harvest

 

To round off this beautiful moment we can revel in Vivaldi’s Allegro from his Autumn concerto in The Four Seasons:-

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7hGiZ579cs&ab_channel=caballeroh

But we do not have to be too misty-eyed. The reality of a British autumn is lovely enough. I think about the trees in all their full autumnal glory, stately and colourful, their leaves a riot of russet hues carpeting the ground to the delight of children in wellies. I think of dogs snuffling about in canine curiosity and insects digging down in anticipation of cooler nights. We allow woollies to replace cottons, we layer with pullovers and sport tweedy hats, striking scarfs, cosy gloves and robust boots. At last, reaching our warm firesides, sheltering from the rising evening wind outside, we gratefully quaff our lush dark sherry or wee dram of finest Scotch. Heaven!

For Autumn too always seems to me to be a time of celebration and convivial laughter. Church Harvest festivals are perhaps losing their prominence but the laity keep the seasons carefully. Hallowe’en is well observed in Scotland and rural England, Australia and in the USA it is a raucous and lavish celebration, a survival of the Mayflower heritage. How much we loved as schoolchildren “ducking for apples”, playing party games and eating rich fruit cake, and most of all scraping out a raw turnip (tasty, but indigestible) and fashioning a “neep lantern” with slit eyes and toothy jaws to terrify the evil spirits- the American pumpkins are much easier!

                                    Anglophone Halloween

A more adult Autumn celebration is found at the Munich Oktoberfest, part harvest part folk festival. The locals dress up in lederhosen und drindl but that is not obligatory. What is obligatory is to consume substantial quantities of excellent German beer, supplemented by Wurst and to have a jolly, convivial time.

                    Oktoberfest in Munich

Yet these are one-off events and the Autumn treat we are more likely to experience is the casual meeting at the local pub, when a polite chat becomes a more profound conversation and you grow to value the person with whom you are talking and to appreciate new perspectives on how we live. You have made a new friend! Hurrah!

This 2023 Autumn is much fortified by an overflow of sporting events to quicken the pulse. As I write, Europe has made a splendid start to her attempt to win the Ryder Cup golf in Rome, leading 6.5 to 1.5. I hope Europe can keep ahead, though the singles are America’s strong suit. Grand Prix racing and the Cricket World Cup in India will also be gripping – not to mention the World Series Baseball tournament for which the Atlanta Braves are currently favourites.

The most absorbing competition is however the Rugby World Cup in France. Already we have seen many clashes of the Titans, great stuff from Ireland, Wales and Fiji, some gems from my native Scotland, solid games from New Zealand and England – but I put my money on France, the host with all the connected advantages. I expect to see peerless Antoine Dupont raise the trophy, probably playing with a protective face-mask after his fractured cheek injury, captain of a truly formidable French team. Allez France!

            The French captain Antoine Dupont

May you all enjoy a marvellous and mellow Autumn!

SMD

29.09.23

Text copyright © Sidney Donald 2023