I’ve been tagged by Ida and Nicole, aka two of my absolute faves, to do the autumn tag; I’m not great at responding to tags sometimes, but when it’s at the hands of these two powerhouses how can I not get involved?
Looking at their posts, they both seem to have slightly different questions, so I’m going to merge them together in a frivolous autumnal wonderland. You get almost DOUBLE the autumn content from your favourite wasteland-dweller, what’s not to love?
1) What signifies the start of autumn to you?
When Strictly Come Dancing starts. When the leaves change, the evenings are a little darker, and I don’t have to worry about being too warm all the time.
2) Best way to spend a rainy day?
I know I’m supposed to say reading or watching a film with a cosy blanket, but I do that shit all the time and my life is not very interesting. It would have to be literally 30 degrees indoors for me to forsake my beloved blanket, so it’s not really reserved for the season.
I suppose a good thing about rainy days is I don’t have to feel so guilty for not leaving the house, as if that was ever really a likely consideration for me.
3) Your most favourite autumn memory?
This is a bit of a weird question. I’ve never frolicked in piles of leaves with my true love or toasted marshmallows on a bonfire with my treasured friends. I’ll just say the gunpowder plot. That’s a special autumn memory for everyone.
4) Favourite autumn scent?
The smell of leaves when they’ve just fallen off the trees. Until they get all mushy from the rain, of course. I don’t go in for pumpkin spice or any of that lark. Being honest, my sense of smell is really poor, so it’s much of a muchness to me.
5) What are you most excited about this autumn?
The first thing I think of is that I am an eternal pessimist/have depression/am medicated/am boring, so don’t have anything to say.
However. I’m going to Dublin to see my friend soon and we’re going to do Halloween things with her kids which will probably be pretty fun. Mr Seeds and I are going to watch an England v. New Zealand rugby league match soon, too. Sitting in the cold watching men in shorts hurl themselves aggressively around a field – it doesn’t get more autumnal than that.
6) Favourite autumn song?
I didn’t know there was such a thing. I can’t honestly say I’ve ever been more inclined to listen to anything in particular just because of a change in the seasons. In the spirit of playing along, though, I’ll opt for Fallen Leaves by Billy Talent. Get it?
7) Favourite autumn film?
Everyone says The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is of course a classic. The Hunger Games always came out around autumn time so they remind me of the season a bit, too.
8) What TV shows are you looking forward to this autumn?
MasterChef. Strictly has already started, and there isn’t anything else I can think of that starts soon. We don’t watch a lot of terrestrial TV these days. I watched a programme called Haunted on Netflix the other day, hoping to enjoy some lightly entertaining seasonal spooky stories. It was shit. Don’t bother.
9) Favourite autumn colour?
Dark green or mustard. I wouldn’t necessarily wear them, but I like the idea.
10) Favourite autumn fashion trend?
Boots. Always boots. I love being able to get my boots back out, and to start dipping into my collection of embarrassing warm hats.
11) Your most loved outdoor autumn activity?
Getting wasted. Sorry, I couldn’t think of anything. I suppose walks are nice when it isn’t raining. I don’t really bother with bonfires or fireworks. Sitting in a cosy pub is always nice, but you know, that’s an indoor activity.
12) Are you a fan of PSL (Pumpkin Spiced Latte)?
I’ve never had one. I don’t drink caffeine, so fancy coffee drinks don’t really appeal. I’m not opposed to the idea of it, and if someone were to provide me with a caffeine-free vegan version then I probably wouldn’t complain.
13) What is your favourite autumn drink?
I drink more hot drinks in autumn, and I’ve been known to enjoy a spiced tea or similar. It’s definitely more wintry than autumnal, but I do enjoy a ginger wine, as well.
14) What is your favourite coffee shop and their drink of choice?
I don’t really go to coffee shops owing to the aforementioned caffeine aversion. There are some nice independent ones around here, though, and there’s a good place that’s a cafe/food market that sells the best vegan cakes in the world.
15) Apple pie or Pumpkin pie?
I mean, really. I’m English, what do you think? I’ve never had a pumpkin pie. I’m not vehemently opposed, but an apple pie would win out every single time for me.
16) What is your favourite comfort food to enjoy in the colder months?
A vegetable stew or something hearty like that. Preferably with garlic bread.
17) Are you a fan of horror movies?
Yes. I don’t limit myself to just watching them at Halloween, although I might ramp up the spook factor a little bit around that time if I’ve got nothing better to do (I haven’t).
18) Do you ever do anything fun or Halloween?
I’m 31 and I have no children, so no. I don’t even have a sensible-sized pet to dress up. A few years ago, my friends and I would always dress up and go out. Ii was a different type of zombie every year. I don’t do that any more, although this year I’ll be with my friend and her kids the weekend before Halloween so I have a feeling some dressing up might be on the cards.
19) What was your favourite part of Halloween as a child?
I’m not sure. It was never really a huge deal, but I do quite like dressing up. I remember one year improvising costumes with my sister and cousin. We went trick or treating around a small Welsh village dressed as vampires, complete with capes made from bin bags.
20) Are you a bigger fan of Bonfire night or Halloween?
I’d probably say Halloween purely because I do like spooky things. Bonfire night isn’t really a big deal for me, and I find it a bit strange that we continue to commemorate a thwarted terrorist attack over 400 years later. Fireworks look cool, but I’m not about to stand outside like a chump to look at them when there are a solid two weeks in October/November dedicated to random firework displays each and every night for no apparent reason.
21) Do you always forget about the clocks going back?
I remember before the fact, but often forget when it’s actually about to happen, Thankfully I don’t need to bother myself with this and my phone changes the time for me. It’s kind like that.
22) When do you usually start preparing for Christmas?
I definitely wasn’t the best person to join in with this tag. Realistically, I don’t give a lot of consideration to different seasons other than assuming I am going to be warm and self conscious in summer, and presumably cold and miserable any other time.
I do like autumn, though, I’ve just never really given it this much thought before.
