A is for Apples Tis the season for Braeburns, Bramleys and Coxs: slice
and bake them in a crumble or throw some into two bowls of water for apple
bobbing on Hallowe’en. For Bonfire Night, make crispy, sticky toffee apples.
To make six, bring to the boil 225g golden caster sugar, 110ml water, ½ tsp
white wine vinegar and 2 tbsp golden syrup. Keep at a rolling boil for 6-8
minutes until a small amount dropped into cold water hardens and loses all
tackiness. Remove from heat. Push lolly sticks into your apples and dip into
the toffee, turning until coated. Stand on greaseproof paper until cooled,
then wrap in cellophane if you need to keep for a day or two.
B is for Black tights Oh, the joy of not having to expose your
imperfect flesh to the world. Geox has some fabulous pairs.
C is for curling up with a good book Lose yourself in Return to the
Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, illustrated by Mark Burgess — the
first authorised sequel to A. A. Milne’s stories. If you’re hooked on the
Millennium Trilogy, snap up Stieg Larsson’s final instalment, The
Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. Or try A Gate at the Stairs,
the long-awaited novel by the superb American short-story writer Lorrie
Moore, loved by Nick Hornby among others.
D is for Dance Among the best of this season’s dance is the Birmingham
Royal Ballet’s performance of Quantum Leaps (to November 14, Sadler’s Wells)
and the Mark Morris Dance Group at Sadler’s Wells (October 27-31). Or treat
your family to a trip to the ballet: The Royal Ballet offer their rendition
of The Sleeping Beauty from October 23 at the Royal Opera House (roh.org.uk).
E is for Emollient Autumn is the perfect time to treat yourself to a
new moisturiser. The excuse is the weather and the central heating but
actually it’s just lovely to have a pot of something new. Try Natura Bisse’s
Rose Mosqueta Oil (£37 from Harrods or Space NK nationwide), an intensive
yet non-greasy dermal boost; you need only the tiniest amount to soothe and
calm dry or irritable skin.
F is for Festivals They’re are not just for summer. Aside from The
Times BFI London Film Festival, which starts this week (bfi.org.uk/lff)
with galas, premieres, screenings and talks, there are comedy festivals in
Brighton (with Julian Clary and Alan Carr on the bill, brightoncomedyfestival.co.uk)
and Manchester ( with Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr, manchestercomedyfestival.co.uk
). The triennial Cambridge Music Festival returns on November 6 for three
weeks of classical music and jazz (cammusic.co.uk);
the world’s biggest jazz names are in the London Jazz Festival (November
13-22, londonjazzfestival.org.uk)
and for Francophiles there is the French Film Festival (from November 13, frenchfilmfestival.org.uk).
G is for Gold All five members of Spandau Ballet are back together for
the comeback tour of the season, beginning in Belfast on October 14 and
ending on November 19 in Liverpool.
H is for Heath The much anticipated The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus,
Heath Ledger’s last film before his untimely death, finally hits our screens
this Friday. Terry Gilliam, the director, employed the talents of Johnny
Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to play Ledger’s part in his unfinished
scenes.
I is for Indian summer Yes, we were promised a barbecue summer and
ended up with a washout August. But last month’s balmy conditions look set
to continue this week at least, with temperatures rising towards 20C (68F).
Walk to work and make the most of the sunny skies.
J is for Jumpers Savour the annual pleasure of bringing out your
cosiest cardis and jumpers. This striped men’s crewneck (APC, £130 at my-wardrobe.com)
is made for long walks in the park or, if it belongs to your other half,
stealing to wear on a cold night.
K is for Knitting It’s the trend that won’t die, with a host of
knitting clubs, books, shops and websites. As the days turn shorter,
discover the joys of stitching. Start with a scarf and you’ll be whipping up
chic little iPod covers in time for Christmas. Try Stitch ’n Bitch: The
Knitter’s Handbook by Debbie Stoller (£14.99, Workman Publishing)
for all you need to know.
L is for Log fires Round off a ramble with a warm pub lunch or cosy up
for the evening with some friends. Try the Bull in Sonning, Berkshire, a
cosy old inn with two open fires, by a lovely misty stretch of the Thames,
or the Hand in Hand, Wimbledon — next to the common, about as country as you
can get without leaving London. Warm your hands at the log fire in the
King’s Head, Holmbury St Mary, Surrey, or enjoy the great views over the
Forest of Dean at the Rising Sun, Woolaston Common, Gloucestershire.
M is for Mini-breaks The Spread Eagle Hotel in Midhurst, West Sussex (hshotels.co.uk),
where Guy Fawkes is said to have rested, is offering stays with sparklers,
soup in a flask to take to the bonfire and toffee apples for children.
N is for Nail polish Not necessarily seasonal, but all the rage this
autumn. Chanel’s new green shade Jade is the hottest around and ideal for
Hallowe’en (if you get on the waiting list now, you should have some by
then). Paint on black tips for extra ghoulishness.
O is for Keats’s Ode to Autumn:
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing
sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the
thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness
to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set
budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think
warm days will never cease, For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
For the full experience head to Winchester, where you can visit the water
meadows where the poet strolled as you follow a “Keats walk” (visitwinchester.co.uk).
P is for Planting your fruit trees Plant them in now and the roots will
be established and raring to go next spring, ready to make those vigorous
new shoots that you will need to create a well-shaped, productive tree.
Plant in spring if you must, but now is better
Q is for The Queen Enjoy five performances for the price of one with
Emilia Fox, Samantha Bond, Susan Jameson, Barbara Flynn and Diana Quick each
playing Queen Elizabeth II at a different stage of her life in the Channel 4
docudrama (late November). If that doesn’t please, there is plenty more to
snuggle up on your sofa with this season. Don’t miss the reunion of the Seinfeld
cast in Curb Your Enthusiasm (More 4, October 15); Robbie Coltrane as
a homicide detective in Murderland (ITV1, October 19); the new series
of The Thick of It (BBC Four, October 24); and the much-awaited
adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel Small Island (BBC One, late
October). Or, for guilty pleasure, there’s always I’m A Celebrity,
Get Me Out of Here! (ITV1, early November)
R is for Rudbeckias No other daisy is so bright and so golden in
October, whether it’s Herbstsonne dancing above your head or Goldsturm
around your knees. That’s Autumn Sun and Goldstorm, if you prefer: the names
say it all.
S is for Sparklers There’s nothing quite like the look on a
child’s face when he or she holds a sparkler against the night sky. John
Lewis has star-shaped and heart-shaped sparklers for £6.50 (johnlewis.com).
T is for Thyme The sweet, earthy smell of thyme fills kitchens all over
Britain in autumn. It’s perfect with pumpkins or added to roast potatoes
with chopped garlic, or with a delicious lemony roast chicken.
U is for Umbrellas Cath Kidston floral £25 (cathkidston.co.uk);
Fulton navy spot, £22 (020-8963 3010); Morris & Co print, £25 at
Fenwick (020-7629 9161)
V is for Vegetable soup A bowl of steaming soup always helps to set the
world to rights once the clocks go back — and it’s great fridge-tidying food
because anything goes. Potatoes and other autumn root vegetables,
cauliflower and broccoli, celery and fennel, pumpkin and squash turn into
creamy nectar by adding them diced and peeled to onion softened in butter.
Add stock, boil until tender, liquidise and season. Change the flavour with
lemon zest and juice, garlic, chilli, herbs and spices. Turn chard, cabbage
and other leafy greens into chunky meal-in-a-bowl soups with canned white
beans, bacon, onion and garlic — and don’t forget the garlic bread for
dunking.
W is for Wellies Pull them on, wrap up in your warmest coat, hat and
scarf and take a stroll in the crisp autumn air. Wander through 800 acres of
woodlands and grass on Hampstead Heath in North London, or maybe marvel at
red kites in the Chilterns.
X is for X marks the spot Bring art to life for your children this
half-term. To mark the release of Children’s Book of Art,
Dorling Kindersley has set up a free “art treasure trail” which leads you
round some of the most famous artworks in London. There are clues to solve
at each gallery, ending at the Dali Universe where there will be many art
activities, workshops, a giant collage and a short play about the history of
art. It’s all free and takes place on Wednesday, October 28. Find out more
at dk.com/arttrail
Y is for Yellow, gold and red Release your inner child and run and jump
in the piles of coloured leaves lining our streets and parks. If you’re in
or near Hampshire, head to Exbury Gardens, where a special autumn trail
leads you to the fiery red maples, dogwoods and azaleas. Autumn-flowering
crocuses, colchicums and cyclamens are on show at Kew Gardens or, if you’re
north of the border, walk through the woodlands at The Pass of Killiecrankie
in Perthshire.
Z is for Zzzzzzz Enjoy an extra hour in bed when the clocks go back on
Sunday, October 25.
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