The FastDay Forum

I love Autumn, it's just about my favourite season (actually I love them all in one way or the other) so here are some things I like best about the good old British autumn (having no other frame of reference).

I like:

Autumn clothes - rich purples, browns, reds etc and jumpers, scarves, cords etc.
Chilly fresh days
Crunchy leaves
Pumpkins and squashes
Autumn fruits
Jacket spuds slathered in butter, salt & pepper
warm cake covered in custard a la school dinners
The rusty coloured landscape & steely skies
Looking forward to Christmas (and not being fed up of it yet)
Decent TV


I dislike:

Halloween
Hearing fireworks nearby that have clearly been chucked about by kids
Horizontal sleet (November I'm looking at you for that one)
Getting up in the dark
The slight panic that it's nearly Christmas, therefore nearly next year already and where's the time going etc etc?!

OK that's about it. Now let me go and get a mug of Ovaltine. Well, half a mug, it is a fast day.

Any other things to add (Aussies, please feel free to have a parallel discussion about things you love about Spring)

Fresh air, the wind seems to come straight from the atlantic or the Russian steppes and feels and tastes so fresh.
The Autumn colours.
The birds coming back to my bird feeder.
Wearing boots.
Thick chunky, rich soups.
Picking blackberries from the hedges.

Dislikes.

Mud.
Higher fuel bills because of heating.
Feeling cold.
Cold rain that gets down the back of your neck.
Shorter days and the knowledge that they are going to get shorter.

[Tracieknits]

Likes: Just about EVERYTHING - the fresh chill in the air, the change in seasonal produce and flavors, all of the wonderful baked goods, being able to shop for as many gothic home decor items as I want

Dislikes: artificial pumpkin flavored everything. I think putting real pumpkin in things like pies, muffins, quickbreads or soups is yummy. I do not want fake pumpkin flavored coffee, lollipops, oreos, etc etc.

Greenmonster i totally echo all your likes and dislikes..and adding some more...

LOVE:
The park in autumn!
Taking photos there..those autumn colours are so beautiful..
Feeding the cheeky squirrels there who come right up to grab a nut!
Wrapping up warm for a walk then into the park cafe for hot chocolate
Seeing the lights come on in shops and homes at teatime
Hurrying home from the chippy with a big parcel of hot food! Coming in from the cold,where
someone has warmed plates,made a pot of tea and cut some bread and butter to go with the fish n chips!
Getting cosy at night to watch some new autumn dramas on tv
Autumn fayres and bazaars
Toffee apples,chestnuts,gingerbread and parkin on Bonfire Night
Organised firework displays

DISLIKE:
It can get claustrophobic when its dark by 4.30
The far too early playing of christmas tunes in the shops

REALLY DISLIKE:
The dying out of the old traditional Hallowe'en where kids played duck apple..Trick and Treat is ok but i dont like to see unsupervised kids going from door to door
Small children begging on streetcorners for Guy Fawkes money..and they never make a decent guy! ..But my main gripe is i dont think they should be allowed out on dark cold evenings alone.
Pets being traumatised by loud bangs on Bonfire Night
The socalled Mischief Night before Bonfire Night which is often just an excuse for some teens to behave badly throwing eggs and flour at doors and cars.

Likes
Woodsmoke, everyone has wood burners for heating around here and I love the smell
Being able to light our wood burner for a cosy evening
Squashes, lovely variety in our shops
Brussels sprouts coming back
Crisp mornings when the sky is blue
Making chutney and jam
Being able to wear layers that hide my wobbly bits.
Watching the combines getting the maize in
Seeing the red squirrel stealing my hazelnuts.
The beautiful starlit nights when we can see the Milky Way.
Dislikes
Dark mornings and evenings
Rainy days that last a week
The feeling that another year is ending.

Hi there
pretty much the same as everyone else really, but yes I hate the dark nights because it means I leave for work in the dark and come back also in the dark... also October will always remind me of my mum's passing

i love the colour changes with the trees and leaves too!

Here's to Autumn!

Oh Candice I was drooling at your chips one - the whole scenario just sounds perfect!

I thought Mischief Night was just a Yorkshire thing, or maybe even just York (where Guy Fawkes comes from, as do I!) - my husband's from near Birmingham and has never heard of it. Agre it's just an excuse for casual vandalism.

And Tracie, thankfully we have not got so obsessed with pumkin things over here that we have fake pumpkin flavouring. We can barely find canned pumpkin in the supermarkets (you can get libbys in waitrose but not seen any anywhere else) so when making American recipes that call for pumpkin puree we have to make our own!

LIKES :
The way the air smells different when September comes
The colours of the trees - I live on the edge of a wood and it is glorious to look out of the window. The other great thing about the wood is the wildlife - hearing owls hooting as you drop off at night is fab. Not to mention the 2 muntjacs and the fox we see regularly.
The darker nights
The clothes (and colours - as someone else mentioned); the fact I can wear a coat!!
Don't mind the cold at all. Love Autumn/winter weather.


DISLIKES :

Just the endless (apparently) fireworks and all those poor animals having to listen to them. Why do some people think loud bangs are entertaining?

Autumn is my favourite season too!
I love

Collecting horse chestnuts and threading them on string for 'conker fights' with my grandsons and watching them jump in the crunchy fallen leaves in the park.
Making soups and hearty casseroles to share with friends.
Drawing the curtains early against the dark, then having a bath and putting bedsocks on with my dressing gown to cosy up on the sofa with a fleecy throw.
Harvest festivals displaying a cornucopia of fruits and veg.
Crisp, frosty mornings.

Dislike
Relentless cold rain and grey skies.
Not much else really!

Pretty much all the above plus:

Likes:
Lower electric bills (not using AC!)
Having the window open at night and getting a cool breeze, instead of hot/humid yechh!
Comfy walks outside instead of hot/humid yechh!
Candy Corn
Snuggling under a blanket to read or watch TV with hot tea ... and maybe a bit of dark chocolate.

[carorees]

Likes:
Harvest produce
Bright sunny but cold days
Having the woodburner fired up at night
Ditto the rayburn so I can cook casseroles and jacket potatoes again

Dislikes
The cold
The rain
The cold
Having to wear lots of thick jumpers
The cold
Dark mornings
The cold
...can you tell I don't like the cold?

This is the time of year I go into hibernation until March/April because of my breathing problems (can't afford to get a sore throat, let alone anything more serious).

I really enjoy the Autumn colours and miss 'kicking leaves' preferably with a yellow Labrador carrying a stick (branch) that he is waiting for me to throw.

I adore winter food, especially the puddings (treacle sponge, apple crumble) so expect an upward trend on my tracker in a few weeks time!

Love:
Stir up Sunday
The way the house smells with all those Christmas chutneys
making mincemeat
harvesting apples and pears
Autumn colours
Fireworks (from a distance as our dogs hate them)
Starting to box all the Christmas hampers

Dislike
Not having any weekend free as I'm at Christmas fairs
Wet, cold, fog


Enjoying reading everyone else's!

Think we have it all covered here so hard to think of new things to add but here goes:

Likes
First frosts, especially when the red leaves are still on the trees and the sun is bright
Hot chocolate
Buying 'back to school' clothes. I much prefer winter fashion.
Lighting the house with holiday season fragranced candles
Organising seasonal parties

Dislikes
Getting snowed in and having to travel in snow
The wind
The cost of so many family birthdays all happening in Oct/Nov
When it gets dark mid December at about 230 in the afternoon
Writing Christmas cards

Can I have one more... please?

This year

Being at target weight on my birthday at the end of October!!!