September- more than just a musical month.

September- more than just a musical month.

It is the month when summer bids a fond farewell. It is the month Neil Diamond and Earth, Wind and Fire celebrated fulsomely in song and, above all, the month when the global Jewish community sing the praises of a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year. The prayers and chants will be abundant, the Shofar blown triumphantly and British politicians are about to descend on their respective party political conferences in their hundreds and thousands.

At the moment the hilariously confusing soap opera that is Brexit is growing more wearisome by the day. But hold on folks it's September and we've now entered that strange period when nothing of any note happens as such and the only certainty is that the leaves on the trees will all eventually fall to the ground, school conkers will be readied for a good, old fashioned helping of vinegar and parents across the land will be leaping for joy as their beloved offspring walk and slouch their way through primary and secondary school gates for the first time. We love September.

Meanwhile out in the suburban shopping centres of North London all is well and in the rudest health. Here in Wood Green a gentleman indulges in a spot of tap dancing. He glances at his admiring audience then looks up and smiles quite happily at a job well done. He knows he's left a favourable impression because the style and manner of his impromptu act leave some of us purring with admiration. The man has considerable rhythm, a lovely tempo and the most positive attitude to life.

Just a couple of a yards away from our supremely talented hoofer, a group of eco warriors are expressing themselves quite vocally, appealing to the sympathies of those who believe that Extinction Rebellion is just a passing phase. They dress up rather garishly for the morning in the hope that somebody will come up to them, hear out their very well intentioned case and, quite possibly, leave a couple of quid in their caps on the ground. Wood Green is hustling and bustling with some vigour.

Away from our environmentally friendly campaigners, a group of ultra religious enthusiasts do their utmost to attract as much attention as they can. It may be Saturday morning but for a multitude of Christians it may just as well be Sunday morning. Around this small huddle of deeply devout church parishioners, the shoppers of Wood Green mind their business, window shopping quite casually before striding decisively into the shops with mouth watering bargains on their mind.

We pass the most colourful market stall, gleaming green apples that look as though they've been polished repeatedly, oranges, pears,  punnets of strawberries that seem too good to eat and huge bunches of bananas that are neatly gathered together like a set of shirts in a menswear shop. All commerce is here, rushing and hurrying at times but mostly well mannered and courteous.

For now this whole scene is a gratifyingly familiar one. True, the shops of today can no longer display one of those awnings which once hung languidly over the window itself. The shopkeepers of England no longer stand outside their personal empire wearing a white coat or a natty bowler on their head. But the fact is that the tills will keep ringing, vast sums of money will be spent and the world will never stop spinning.

Back at the rapidly filling bus stops, more people are racing after their Route Master buses, more families wrestling with more and more pushchairs, women are confiding in each other and the men may well be discussing England rugby union's 37- 0 demolition of Italy in a World Cup warm up match. Besides, England could be World Champions again in another sport and that really could make us all sit up and take notice.

Still, here we are in England on an early Saturday morning in September. The country is still wrestling with the complexities of Brexit and Boris Johnson, our shiny new Prime Minister has now taken to angry finger pointing at his Labour opponent Jeremy Corbyn. By the end of October we could be wallowing in the same mess as the one we seemed to have been stuck in for the last three years. Does anybody know what's going on or is this some kind of children's game designed to test our patience? Will we ever leave the European Union or will poor Edward Heath be haunted by his decision to take Britain into the Common Market in 1975?

For now we must pore over our newspapers and magazines, take the dog for a walk, sit on a park bench, look out at this most attractive patchwork quilt of a country, sigh thoughtfully and wonder again why exactly Britain keeps dithering, hesitating and procrastinating. Why do they keep putting things off all the time? Come on Britain you've got to make up your mind sooner rather than later. Earth, Wind and Fire and Neil Diamond would love to know. Decisions, decisions, decisions.