Autumn is a synthesis of seasons, a bridge between them with one side taking a nostalgic look back over the shoulder to summer as the kids kick their beachballs into a corner, flick off their flip flops or shake the sand from their shoes, ready to head back to begin the autumn term at school. The beach becomes less boisterous, emptied of holiday makers, dogs returning to race around the sand. Ice-cream kiosks close one by one, even if the weather is still like summer. Yet by the end of the season, after the clocks have changed, Christmas lights are already twinkling in trees and around windows, the Christmas market has been assembled with its alpine outdoor bar and skating rink and the days are drawing in. Yet autumn does stand alone in its own right. That brief burst of colour starting sometime mid-October and lasting barely three weeks before the storms roll in, wind ripping the last leaves from the trees.
