Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Autumn rain

After several very bright days, it's raining today. It doesn't change the fact that there are still wonderful views to be seen. This is not my favourite time of year - I hate the way the nights lengthen and the days shorten, but it is very beautiful.

From my window, I can see a copper beech in our neighbour's garden, still retaining its scarlet leaves and in the opposite corner of our garden is a sweet chestnut tree whose green leaves are turning golden. Below it is the dark red of a berberis and alongside that is a grey-green senecio, and a cotoneaster which is bright with red berries. It's a wonderful picture and I appreciate every day when I look out.

I've been to the post office to send off three chapters of my novel to an agent. I'm not a very organised person, but I've gradually trained myself to carry out tasks on certain days. I try to go to the PO, two miles away, only once a week, whereas when it was in our village, I used to go nearly every day. I avoid Mondays, because, on my PO trips, I buy free range eggs from the butcher's and they're not open on a Monday. I go to the bank, if necessary, on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, as they've now closed it on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Somewhere I fit Sainsbury's into that.

The post office used to be the centre of our village; people met and talked there, but when armed men broke in, it was the last straw for the postmistress. When I have standard size letters to post, I tend to walk to the box five minutes away, and try to extend the walk if I'm feeling energetic. My manuscript had to be weighed, hence the trip to the PO.

M has now taken my car to a garage for them to look at a bump I sustained in a car park. I will apply myself now to VAT.

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