Thom Kofoed: It is September. It is raining
It is officially autumn now.
It is dark by eight. In fact, today the sun hasn't even risen. That's sad.
I woke up and the light was on on the landing. I put on joggers for goodness sake - the universal sign that it's not gonna be a great day.
As I poured my ricicles into a bowl and complained about the atrocious new line up for Strictly Come Dancing to anybody that'd listen (I'm sure Michelle Williams of Destiny's Child fame is fuming that she's here, the third most famous of the trio and Beyonc is filling stadiums with people gagging to put a ring on it) it was difficult not to become slightly depressed by the change of season.
I know that summer wasn't great this year (although May was a delicious sun kissed delight) but when it rains in summer you still live in hope that 'the sun'll come out tomorrow.' Some would even bet their bottom dollar on the fact that tomorrow there will be sun. (I feel it imperative to apologise for the Annie reference, it happened, I hope we can move on, much like orphan Annie herself. Oh, I hope life treated her kindly-if anyone deserved that she did).
Once autumn comes however, the realisation that tomorrow and the next day and the next will be glum hits and my usual effortless optimism takes a dive.
Truth be told I do love autumn, it's my favourite season. I love walking through Alexandra Park when the leaves have fallen.
I love the yellow and the crunch. I love wearing scarves and macs, drinking coffee in the old town and pulling the curtains closed at four.
When I think about kicking my way through the park though, I think about the air being cold and crisp AND DRY. I think about the sun shining through the empty trees, walking arm in arm with a friend whilst the theme tune to The Good Life plays in the background.
In reality the leaves are wet with rain and the clouds seem to suffocate any chance of sunshine dancing off the ponds and making patterns on the water. The sky is heavy with grey and fog and misery, the birds stop singing, people stop saying hello to each other, one autumn I saw a child throw a bucket of ice at a group of students and shout "I'm usually very polite and gracious but the forecast indicates formation of fog and overnight lows in the lower or middle 30s accompanied by light winds which may result in widespread fog across most of Sussex and I can't seem to control my actions anymore."
OK, I might be exaggerating slightly but it's hard to remain positive when outside looks like Soviet Russia during the height of the Cold War.
Oh and I can't abide the dark and the dank mornings. Waking up and leaving for work on those grim days is like asking me to swallow a handful of knives whilst doing hopscotch and reciting the off side rule-it's probably not going to be that easy.
Right now I'm looking out my window at the East Hill...or at least where the East Hill usually is. Today I see fog, mist and rain. It's easy to forget that one month ago I was doing cartwheels across it and picnicking with my family there in bare feet and t-shirts and that was marvellous. But autumn brings a different marvellous.
Yes, today is not great, the weather is rubbish, its cold, I'm wearing joggers, Abercrombie and Fitch joggers yes, but joggers nonetheless, I haven't left the house all morning and I've eaten one too many chocolate digestives but wonderful things happen in autumn too. These things may well happen under a grim cloud of grey but they still happen.
With the change in seasons comes Halloween, Christmas, Yom Kippur and Hanukah for the Jewish amongst us, Winter Solstice, New Year and a whole bunch of other things that would seem ridiculous taking place on a beach in mid-June.
So I suggest we embrace the change because autumn is inevitable after all. We must try to shun the desire to mope around in joggers and instead take autumn by the boot straps and show it who's in charge.
Yeah, let's do that. Brilliant, I'm glad we're on the same page. This is great. Yes, autumn.
...Oh flip, it's just started bloody raining again and the washings on the line. I hate September.
For more from Thom visit www.thomatronics.com.
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Weather for Hastings
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
