Nibbles ‘n Tipples

In September, summer’s finally over. We’re now on the long run-up to Christmas. Within days, the seasons shift and the light slips away. Swallows feed like maniacs in their hundreds, sweeping around the giant sycamore tree outside the pub, and then fly along the lane. They line up on the telephone wires, as if on the starting line, ready for their epic 4,000 mile migration to the warmth of the African sun. This marks the true end of summer, along with the loud ‘bang’ of the partridge shooters, and the smell of the year’s final harvested straw-bales which lie dotted around the fields, waiting to be picked up.