Autumn Amusements

 Autumn Amusements

Autumn has well and truly arrived and most of us are feel an innate sense of doom and gloom due to the death and decay of nature surrounding us. The reduced hours of daylight and the dramatic plummet of temperature has been made all the more painful after this summer’s immense heat wave which can result in the notorious Seasonal Affective Disorder. Symptoms include the dominant desire to stay in and watch telly while eating all things carb; also known as hibernation.

Unfortunately our species haven’t been equipped with the appropriate resources to survive all the months of cold and dark that our country throws at us cooped up in our pits; though many seem adamant to test this theory!

When you can’t change something, you should change the way you think about it. It is inevitably going to be windy, cold, dark and wet this autumn; so what are the positives? Well, October is actually one of my favourite months, so I’ll tell you why…

The crisp, fresh mornings are energising and no matter where, or how far I need to walk, I am thrilled to do so with the crunch of leaves underfoot. The smell of oak wood fires, rotting leaves, apple pie, cinnamon and homemade soup is nothing but intoxicating! Oktoberfest. OK, so I’m not going to run off to Munich every October to enjoy some of the finest beers to have ever graced my lips, but I do like reminiscing in a good old traditional English pubs.  And last but certainly not least, Halloween; a day to many and a whole holiday to… me!

To enjoy Halloween to its full potential, you first need to know how it all begun. The tradition of dressing up originated hundreds of years ago when winter was feared for the lack of food and the darkness. As Halloween is more notorious for, the only day in which the dead can come back to walk upon Earth freely. People thought that if they left their homes in the dark they would encounter ghosts, so they decided to mask themselves as to blend in with the spirits. To keep the ghouls away from their homes, they would place a bowl of food in offering, hence how trick or treating came about!

Autumn within Chorlton Green

To make the most out of this month and of this season, may I introduce, or re-introduce Chorlton Green. It’s a small conservation area just outside of Chorlton with a great deal of historically picturesque architecture, quaint shops, cafes, gallery, bakery, deli, brasserie, antiques and public houses. The diversity for such an intimate and classic space is really quite phenomenal.

Saint Clement’s Churchyard houses a walkway of tombstones which the Council flattened in order to make improvements… The results of which are an eerily gothic walkway over multiple gravestones. A test for the brave of heart and not the right path to take for the superstitious! 

The Horse and Jockey have eighteen German Beers on offer up until the 7^th October in honour of the festival and even after that date, it’s a great haunt on a Sunday for ale and a roast to toast to Oktoberfest in your own way.

I fear I may have surpassed the acceptable age for trick or treating, OK, I did a while ago… So I like to celebrate Halloween in other ways, because it isn’t just for children! First and foremost, Pumpkin: not only is it fun to carve but the remnants make delicious soup and it smells amazing when you have a burning tea light inside. Throw a fancy dress party and bob for apples, have a scary movie night, visit haunted attractions (e.g. Wythenshawe Hall – August edition), read a terrifying old classic like Dracula or Frankestein and in the true origin of the tradition, remember those you’ve loved and lost and live as much as possible for them.

Happy Autumn!