BootsnAll Travel Network



The Beginning of Autum…

Today I finally relented and fired up the gas fire in the lounge. The light outside is grey and although the leaves are still green, autum started last weekend when the first trees in the woods began to turn yellow and red.

Bizzarely, I spotted this on the way to a writers’ weekend in a beach house on the Severn Estuary. I say bizzarely, because this part of the estuary, by Burnham on Sea, is lined with miles and miles of caravan parks stretching along the A370. There are camping places and amusement parks and Bingo halls—and all of them were bustling. Where did all these people come from in mid-September? Why do they not holiday in sunny Spain or the Greek islands for less money, instead of walking in the drizzling rain on a polluted beach where the waves paint ripples of tar onto the sand? And why were the kids not at school? Memories from childhood caravan holidays flashed by, but that was in the late sixties and air travel wasn’t cheap back then. With increasing fuel problems, we may soon be forced to rediscover holidaying in the style of our grandparents, but not yet, not yet!

Saying that, the weekend was wonderful and a fitting end to the summer. We were even lucky enough with the weather to permit a brief walk on the beach and a sunny evening in one of those Sommerset pubs that serve real ale and cider with no name from a farm down the road.

Oh, and the writing went astonishingly well too. I’m not up to the standard of the other group members, of course, but there is hope. Writing is not a super-human skill, it can be learned. Saying that, I’m still stuck on my stories and I have to relax a little. The greying light and chilling air brings with it a tug away from the computer. Increasingly often, I’m dipping into my ‘Lonely Planet’ SE Asia guide and shortly I’ll be catching up with my favourite bloggers and forums on Bootsnall. It is time to get ready for the big trip!

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