Three Glimmers | 11.24

Snapshots of wonder from the edge of liminality.

Welcome to The Autumn Chronicles, a place to shine a light on all the wonder around us as we navigate the seasons. I hope these writings allow you to sit quietly with a cup of something warm and comforting and take a few moments for yourself away from the rush and hurry. If you would like to make sure you get all newsletters directly to your inbox, please subscribe below. Thank you for being here.

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Here we are at the culmination of autumn. It feels like it has been even more fleeting this year and I have struggled to carve out the time to slow down and enjoy the season. The weather has turned in my little corner of the UK; the wind has an icy sting, the sunlight burns weaker and paler than it did a few weeks ago and lichen-covered branches paint dark silhouettes against the sky. It even snowed last week (although it didn’t settle), signifying that the transition to winter is imminent. Even so, there have been moments of real joy amidst a life that seems to be hurtling at breakneck speed towards the end of the year. These are the glimmers that have been peeking out, like the apricity of the sun, from an impendingly hibernal sky shot with clouds the colour of pewter, oyster and gravel.

Blustery Walks and a Shower of Leaves

All photos © The Autumn Chronicles

My husband and I went for a walk one Saturday afternoon and, at the exact moment I walked under a tree, the wind picked up, causing dozens of leaves to swirl like tiny ballet dancers in the air around me. It was an instant of pure magic. Everywhere I look, my surroundings are transitioning towards the stark, frost-laden beauty of the winter months but there are still tiny vestiges of colour in the shades of ruby and garnet, saffron and mustard, rust and amber of the few leaves that remain steadfastly clinging to the trees. It is those that I admire most, both for their tenacity and for their ability to blaze in a landscape that is quickly becoming muted and barren.

Reading in the Quietude

Many people start to think about defrosting Mariah Carey at this time of year but, for me, it is always Nigel Slater. He is unparalleled as a food writer and I love nothing more as the wind whips and the air chills than curling up on the sofa with a blanket, a cat (two if I am really lucky or if I have hidden treats under the blanket) and The Christmas Chronicles (which is in diary format and starts in November for those who may think I am jumping the gun!). The way he narrates the rituals of both Christmas and the darker months - the traditions, the histories, the meaning in the small moments - and extends that from the end of autumn to the depths of February is something I find myself reaching for again and again as soon as the clocks go back. His writing serves as both inspiration and comfort, providing a backnote of calm and an anchor against the often frenetic pace of the festive season and the contrasting flat, dull post-Christmas hush.

I’ve also just finished reading his newest book, A Thousand Feasts. It is part memoir and part guide to the glimmers of a life lived well, encompassing everything from cooking, gardening, travelling and focusing on small moments of wonder in the midst of everyday life. Highly recommended for a cold, quiet Sunday afternoon.

Hints of Christmas

This weekend we found ourselves in Norfolk for a long weekend. We were there to celebrate my mother in law’s 80th birthday and we stopped in Norwich to have afternoon tea at the Assembly House. The setting was gorgeous: high Georgian ceilings decorated with candy pink decorations, nutcrackers and the soft gossamer glow of fairy lights. Some say that decorating for Christmas starts too early but I am firmly of the belief that it is important to find sparks of joy wherever possible. There is something magical about twinkling lights set against the pine green of a Christmas tree or the inky black of the night sky. I am preparing to put my own Christmas tree up in a few days and so this weekend’s festivities have been the perfect entry point to the most wonderful time of the year (according to Andy Williams).

And a bonus glimmer this month: the spectacular beauty of an autumn sunset over the vast skies and silhouetted landscape of the Fens.

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