Low Key Sparkly Bonfire Night

This year Guy Fawkes Night came and went past our family in the most low-key fashion ever. The big town fireworks were on Saturday night - but we were at a friend's birthday party so we missed that - and on November the 5th itself Big G was working so we didn't arrange to go anywhere and it was just an ordinary school-and-work sort of day.

Luckily L remember-remembered that we had a packet of sparklers left over from last year. Inspired! I've no idea where I had stored them, but somehow she found them. At around 7pm - that handy hour after dinner but before Eastenders - we put on warm coats and old shoes and went outside.

The big tree in the back garden seemed huge and loomed over us like a gigantic vulture, and the area at the back behind the goal posts was thick black and silent. The children had two sparklers each and I had one. B solemnly did the man's job and lit the first ones with a barbeque lighter. We then cheerily ran around the lawn on squidgy autumn leaves, waving the sparkles here and there against the cold dark sky, writing our names in bright seconds of gold and surprising the guinea pigs.

Then we went inside and watched Eastenders. That was all.

The Leaves Leave

Yesterday we felt the first bite of winter. I had forgotten how unpleasant cold air feels on my skin. The leaves on the trees have been turning from green to yellow lately - I've tried to ignore it - but in the last week they have suddenly sped up and changed dramatically to reds and browns instead. I can ignore it no longer. The leaves are now withered and dry. They are giving up the fight, giving up their spectacular view, letting the icy wind push them off their comfortable branches and blow them ruthlessly into the cloudy sky. With a defeated sigh, they float down and land any-old-where, where they will let the ground take them back as mulchy muddy muck. The death throes of summer.