It catches me out every year and 2019 was no exception. I woke up, turned to look at the digital clock on the bedside table, noted it was saying 0611hrs and started to wonder why my iphone hadn't woken me up. Last night I had checked that it was set and while it needed charging, which meant I left it downstairs in the hall, plugged to the wall, I knew that I would hear it when it sparked up. Not today. So I got up, found my cycling trousers, jumper, socks and what have you and was about to head downstairs when I remembered: the clocks had gone back. It was really 0511hrs and I found myself with a dilemma. Do I undress and climb back into bed or simply carry on? After a moment's thought I decided to stay up, go downstairs and make some breakfast, listen to classical music and do what I'm doing right now, write this blog post.
It would be misleading of me to say we're 'well into October' because we're more than that: it's Halloween next Thursday and then it's November. Already the bad weather has set in. When the alarm went off yesterday I aborted because when I got out of bed I peered out of the window and noted rain falling hard on next door's roof. Then I climbed back into bed and didn't get out until gone 0700hrs. Saturday was one of those awful, drizzly days when the rain nagged at everybody all day. Everything was wet and miserable and I found myself in a shopping centre in a galaxy far far away looking yearningly at a Sekonda Midnight Blue watch and going as far as trying it on, but not buying it. There never seems to be enough money and that, added to the drizzle and the wet terrazzo flooring of the aforementioned shopping mall added to a cloud of depression that hung over me for the rest of the day.
Now that we're in November, of course, we're into what I've always called 'typical NoVisibleLycra weather'. Grey skies, the threat of rain, cold temperatures, although not that cold, reign supreme as Andy and I cycle somewhere with only the promise of a cup of tea at the end of it. Oh, and the prospect of cycling home again too. But we love it, although sometimes - particularly on Saturdays - I could do with longer in bed, or simply not hearing the alarm at 0600hrs.
It's not yet 0600hrs and I'm sitting downstairs with just one light on listening to Radio 3. Classical music is good when you're writing something as it takes place in the background and never intrudes on the thinking process; in fact, it probably helps things along a little bit and so I sit here, the sleep banished from my head, an empty bowl of cereal and an empty mug on the table next to me looking at the hour stretching before me and the distant thought of being out in the garage, unpadlocking the bike and heading up the road to meet Andy.
It's dark outside, although now that the clocks have gone back, the mornings will be lighter for a week or two before the darkness takes over and Christmas becomes a dawning reality. Already the shops have sprouted Christmas trees, but most sensible people ignore them, for the time being, content to cling on to any last hope of summer weather. Sunrise today was at 0644hrs, roughly 15 minutes ago and the cloud and sun icon on my iphone's weather app means it's going to be a day of sunshine and cloud. Hopefully no rain.
It would be misleading of me to say we're 'well into October' because we're more than that: it's Halloween next Thursday and then it's November. Already the bad weather has set in. When the alarm went off yesterday I aborted because when I got out of bed I peered out of the window and noted rain falling hard on next door's roof. Then I climbed back into bed and didn't get out until gone 0700hrs. Saturday was one of those awful, drizzly days when the rain nagged at everybody all day. Everything was wet and miserable and I found myself in a shopping centre in a galaxy far far away looking yearningly at a Sekonda Midnight Blue watch and going as far as trying it on, but not buying it. There never seems to be enough money and that, added to the drizzle and the wet terrazzo flooring of the aforementioned shopping mall added to a cloud of depression that hung over me for the rest of the day.
Now that we're in November, of course, we're into what I've always called 'typical NoVisibleLycra weather'. Grey skies, the threat of rain, cold temperatures, although not that cold, reign supreme as Andy and I cycle somewhere with only the promise of a cup of tea at the end of it. Oh, and the prospect of cycling home again too. But we love it, although sometimes - particularly on Saturdays - I could do with longer in bed, or simply not hearing the alarm at 0600hrs.
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| Soon the mornings will look like this (if we're lucky!) |
It's dark outside, although now that the clocks have gone back, the mornings will be lighter for a week or two before the darkness takes over and Christmas becomes a dawning reality. Already the shops have sprouted Christmas trees, but most sensible people ignore them, for the time being, content to cling on to any last hope of summer weather. Sunrise today was at 0644hrs, roughly 15 minutes ago and the cloud and sun icon on my iphone's weather app means it's going to be a day of sunshine and cloud. Hopefully no rain.
