Falling Leaves

13.10.19

Today at lunch a friend proclaimed himself a city dweller, or at least, having grown up in the country he had always thought of himself as a country person, but really, thinking about it, he preferred the city, or more exactly, he preferred London. Reasons included less mud, more efficiency, more to do, friends closer at hand.  And I quite agree with him, he is a city person, I can’t really imagine anyone less likely to be partaking in such countryside activities as planting tomatoes, herding sheep or sorting out pesky moles.

 I have always thought of myself as a country person – I’m happy in the mud, walking dogs, long walks in the rain. But really this is silly, I have lived in London for 7 years now, and, however much I whine about the cityness of London, it’s not all that bad, there are things I do greatly appreciate, good restaurants, friends near by, a quick and easy commute to work.

What I really love most of all, wherever I am, city or country, is being outdoors. Out in the air, under the sky, whatever the weather. We recently spent a week and a half in Bhutan (more to follow in a future post!), and we went walking for four days, camping at night. I was incredibly nervous about this, my only real tent experiences have been on the dreaded D of E, and slightly too inebriated at a festival, neither of which I have made me jump at the idea of pitching again. But this time it was different. At 4000 metres, the air was so fresh, the skies so clear you could see all the stars, and sitting round a campfire was magical, and even more so, waking up to the sunlight in the morning.

 On the way back to the big city, I promised myself that as London descended into winter, I would spend as much time as possible outdoors.   I currently spend 7.5 hours at my desk every day, staring at my computer screens, without a window to look out of, just me, my colleagues, and the whirring of many machines.  So last week, I started every morning with a 1 hour walk, leaving my house early and walking across first Wandsworth Common and then Clapham Common. At lunchtime I took a quick turn about Battersea Park, and then after work, the walk home again. Perfect. There is something incredibly satisfying about having only walked to the places you need to get to for a whole week, no other transport necessary.

 Not only is London a city in which walking can be a pleasure, it also has the most marvellous collection of trees. When you start looking, and I mean really looking, there are all sorts. On the common and the in the parks, marking paths, lining streets, towering above you or peering over garden walls.  I am not all that good at identifying trees, I didn’t know what a Plane Tree was until Max pointed them out to me, so I have decided it is time. Not only will I be spending my free hours out of doors, I will also be learning about the trees and plants.

 Autumn feels like the perfect place to start. I love autumn, the beautiful deep colours, yellow, orange and red, the leaves changing so fast that if you forget to go outside, you can so easily miss them.  And those bright sunny mornings, that start with a little chill in the air. The leaves on the commons are just starting to turn, the cherry trees are first, some already a pinky purple red.   Today, this afternoon, as the rain subsided, we went for a walk around Wandsworth Common and discovered not only autumn leaves, but lots of brightly coloured berries, and a few flowers too!  And as we were walking home, the sun broke through. Below I have attempted to identify them, but I am sorry if I haven’t got them correct, please let me know, I would like to learn!

 Enjoy the colour, I can’t wait for more to come.

Alice xxx