Autumn at Monceau

“I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness.” (Adeline Knapp) It was mild and wet in Paris this weekend, with the sort of steady drizzle that encourages you to [...]

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A definition of mellow

Recently my seven-year-old daughter asked me what “mellow” meant. I rather struggled to define it. I could have just shown her an English autumn day. For me, it expresses exactly that “ pleasantly soft, sweet, ripe” sense given by my dictionary. Rather than moving on to quote the much-abused line from Keats, I will simply [...]

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Autumn – the year’s last, loveliest smile

We have enjoyed a glorious Indian summer in Paris, lingering well into October, with temperatures in the 20s and bright sunny skies almost every morning. But the trees know. Shorter days and cooler nights have signalled the changing seasons to them. Here is one beautiful example from last weekend, in our local parc Monceau. I [...]

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