Autumn

After summer came winter. Then winter turned straight into summer without passing through spring. Now summer has turned back into autumn before suddenly turning into winter again.

Although the season changes might be familiar to some (I haven’t been forced to eat Robin’s minstrels yet), these are the seasons I have travelled through since leaving Europe. And after a very long period of summer, autumn has rapidly kicked in and I’m now feeling all the typical depression symptoms linked to the season.

I miss the cold and wet London evenings. I miss driving back from work with the fans set to the highest heat setting. I miss entering a warm and cosy home at the end of the day after having fought the cold outside. I miss catching trains under the rain. Running around in the 6 pm crowded darkness of London’s heart. I miss meeting friends in the evening for a drink before having to face the cold and rainy weather again.

And although I recently changed my feelings about working in London (I believe Paris offers a better lifestyle) I know that London is unique during autumn and winter. A film I watched this week - Closer - has only strengthened this feeling, as it is set in the city and did a great job reminding me of the hectic yet romantic feel London has to offer during the cold and wet months.

You must all be thinking I’m crazy! "He’s had too much heat... it’s got to his head". But I have skipped autumn altogether this year. Although it has now only just begun here in Santiago, I will be travelling south to Patagonia at the end of the week getting my share of winter far too soon to fully appreciate this brief autumn.

On the brighter side, this will only make my return to the UK more pleasurable: after cold Patagonian, summer will return as I make my way up Brazil’s east coast; I’ll then be remaining in the hotter South American climate until September before flying back to a long awaited autumn in London, where I’ll enjoy the rain with my friends...