Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, and brown. The phenomenon is commonly called autumn colours or autumn foliage in British English and fall colors, fall foliage, or simply foliage in American English. Wikipedia
Suburbia: the outer parts of a town, where there are houses, but no large shops, places of work, or places of entertainment Cambridge Dictionary
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| Grounds of the Brampton Museum |
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| Sidmouth Avenue |
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| Station Walks Newcastle-Under-Lyme I know it is not fashionable to have the following opinion but I quite like suburbia, and I do actually live in suburbia, a suburban area that is in Stoke-on-Trent but 3 minutes away from Newcastle-Under-Lyme, and I count myself very lucky to live where I do, although it is far from the large city that I dreamed of living in when I was in my teens. During lockdown and now in our tiered times, me and my husband have been walking a 30 minute local daily suburban circuit. One route takes us down the local streets of well-kept semi-detached houses, with their pebble-dashed frontages, mock Tudor, and manicured gardens. Another route takes us through the Brampton Museum grounds. Sidmouth Avenue which was once gated, and also the birthplace of writer and reformer Vera Brittain. Our walk then takes us on to Station Walks in Newcastle-Under-Lyme which Sidmouth Avenue backs on to. Station Walks is an old railway track flanked by a grassy bank that used to be the junction canal between King Street and Queen Street. Station walks now links Queen Street and King Street and comes out on King Street opposite the Borough Arms hotel. There are no longer evidential rail trappings of the past but at this time of year there is an incredible display of "fall foliage". In fact, the whole of our walking route is aligned by majestic fall foliage. So why do I keep using the American phrase "fall foliage" rather than simply "Autumn leaves"? Well in the US the fall is quite a big deal, when I first went to visit my sister in Asheville North Carolina, the security guard in the marble-halled nostalgic 60s filmic regional airport asked why was I was leaving so early, I looked at him a little bit confused, he said because it's a pity you will miss the fall foliage. You see Asheville is on the edge of the Appalachians, and Asheville does a big tourist trade in Autumn with visitors flooding into the town, using it as a base to go into the Appalachians or to tour the Blue Ridge Parkway -The Parkway which I mistakenly thought when my sister first mentioned it was a trekking trail, when if fact it is a lovely scenic drive with controlled speed limits and overlook (lookout) points - to see the fall foliage. In the US there are even fall foliage weather forecasts, but for us, Autumn is the Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; |
Keats
Autumn is almost assumed, we generally don't compare one Autumn season with the other, it is the precursor, to the not always eagerly awaited Winter, although it is wonderfully the time for jumpers, translucent light, and traipsing through seasonal tree bounty, along the suburban streets. As children eagerly await for Halloween and bonfire night, which will be very different this year and given the current situation we all find us in, I can think of no better time to proclaim joyfully about the undeniable beauty of our "fall foliage" that is never too far from our doorstep, with its reassuringly predictable beautiful regularity.