Join me for a slow November day in rural England as I embrace some of the familiar traditions of this time of year, making homemade toffee apples and soft, fluffy marshmallows before enjoying a little Bonfire Night magic. I also visit Tavistock market in the hope of finding a few Christmas gifts.
I've been thinking lately about the rhythms of the year and the traditions we return to again and again. Those familiar moments that mark the passing seasons and become woven into our memories.
There's something rather lovely about these simple traditions. The smell of toffee bubbling away in the kitchen, marshmallows toasted over the fire and the sound of fireworks in the November sky.
Although we return to them each year, no two Novembers are ever quite the same.
I hope this video brings you a moment of peace and perhaps reminds you of some of your own favourite autumn traditions.
Thank you, as always, for spending a little time here with me.
There are certain moments in the year
that seem to belong entirely to themselves.
We know them by the things we do, the familiar smells,
the traditions that return with each passing season.
And somehow, without us really noticing,
they become part of the rhythm of our lives.
As autumn begins to give way to winter, there
is something rather lovely about returning to these familiar things.
Making toffee apples in the kitchen.
The smell of sugar bubbling away on the stove.
Soft homemade marshmallows,
ready to toast over the fire.
The warmth of a bonfire against
the cold November air.
And somewhere in the distance,
the sound of fireworks.
These are things we've done before,
and things I hope we'll
do for many years to come.
But although we return to these moments year after year,
we never really return to the same moment twice.
The seasons may follow the same familiar path,
but life continues to move around them.
Children grow a little older,
and our lives change in ways we might never have imagined.
And things that once seemed
so ordinary become memories of a time we never quite return to.
Perhaps that's what makes these little traditions so special.
I think they give the passing years a shape,
something familiar to look forward to, something to remember.
Something that connects the people we are today.
All the versions of ourselves who came before.
And I suppose that's what I find so touching about this time of year.
Not necessarily the grand occasions.
Or having to get everything done.
But for me it's the simple act of returning.
To familiar places.
Familiar traditions in the kitchen.
And the people we choose to share them with.
Knowing that this November.
Just like all the Novembers before it.
will one day belong to the past and that somewhere amongst
the sticky toffee, the smoke from the fire
and the last sparks disappearing into the night,
we are making memories that we don't yet know
we'll treasure. For now though,
it's simply November and I think I'd like to stay here
in this little moment for just a little while longer.
