Autumn Weather - That most awkward time of the year

Bah...here we are again, that most awkward time of year...boiling hot on the tube (not quite as bad as the sauna (he says with experience) at Oxted pool, but almost) and a combination of freezing cold (two frosts so far - here is Poppy the Beetle's roof as proof) -

- when the skies are clear and rain and wind most of the rest of the time...

At the moment I am employing a strategy of trying to avoid "outside" if at all possible, keeping my jacket in my bag, and then, just before I have to go out into the cold again, throwing it around my shoulders...but soon, I know, that cold the coat is supposed to be protecting me from will be too severe for any garment capable of folding neatly up into my rucksack...

One really lovely thing, though, is the smells of Autumn are also becoming more and more common (something I love), even today at West India Quay, one of the party boats was obviously having a log fire on board, and there is nothing quite like that to awaken those dusty thoughts of Christmas... ;)

*distant sound of rhythmically shaking bells* ;)