September.

 September

Unlike the legendary Neil Diamond and Earth, Wind and Fire vinyl single, September is not in the record charts, nor is it in a prolific recording studio where stars are born and reputations developed. There are no microphones next to us, old guitars and pianos discreetly hidden away in lofts and attics. There is very little evidence of any bloated ego, delusions of grandeur or contracts to be signed by lucrative record companies. Here in the world all is good and flourishing. Most of Europe is just about holding itself together apart from war torn Ukraine where everything is either flattened, demolished and burnt to the ground. Oh if only the world would stop fighting and killing indiscriminately.

Here in Britain the cost of living crisis is biting deep into our pockets and belts are being tightened like never before. The price of everything is disturbingly astronomical, severe cutbacks are still being implemented and climate change is well and truly here to stay for the duration. You'd have thought the whole world had just fallen apart at the seams and we were just staring into a dark abyss where everything that used to work is now just faulty and defective. So here is the first day of September and summer is waving farewell ever so slowly. It's dropping anchor, floating serenely away into distant horizons and just disappearing into some distant geographical location far away from this sceptred island. You can vaguely see the first outlines and contours of winter but first things first.

Autumn, according to the meteorological department, has now started officially. It may not feel like it but winter will swiftly follow and it'll be here until the end of March. When you were a child every day felt like the first day of spring and then summer. We were oblivious to winter because the seasons just merged into a whole. You went back to school after an another eventful summer holiday and forgot about time. Those wintry mornings must have been bitterly cold but none of us really cared because nobody attached a great deal of importance to winter.

You were somehow conditioned to the everyday pleasures of life because you were cocooned by the warmth of your living room knowing fully well that you were indoors, loved, cared, watered and fed by loving parents. September was the forerunner of the winter darkness at three o clock in the afternoon and everything was just taken for granted. You slung your infant satchel over your shoulder, packed away all the relevant exercise books and those vitally significant reference books that provided us with the basic foundation stones of life; there was education, learning, the English language and the dreaded maths. 

But back then September was still a time for being carefree, footloose and free. You still cried and whimpered like a baby at the daunting prospect of going back to school after a long summer of recreation and play with your friends. But then you realised that the changing of the seasons was rather like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The only difference was that there were never any inquisitive tourists taking photos of you as you embarked on your academic day. You just got on with the business of maturing, understanding and fathoming out who you were, all the while making daily discoveries about life and the environment.

Still here you are September and welcome to the show. September was always synonymous with conkers drenched in vinegar and playground friends accidentally rapping your knuckles. September was about kicking autumn leaves into the air, running through puddles of rain deliberately in case your shoes fancied a good old soaking. There was a palpable air of mischief and impudence as all the kids started running around the playground frantically, wrapping their ties around either their head or waist deliberately in the hope that the teacher and headmaster would pull you up short and reprimand you.

As the years went by the rebellion turned into a mass revolt and before you could blink a loud voice of authority would ring out across the land and the whole playground just froze with fear and trepidation. Of course the rules and regulations had to be obeyed but none of us did although some of us didn't really know how to react because they and not you were just determined to do detention and write thousands of lines of apology. Sorry Sir or Miss you were very repentant and you'd never let off that stink bomb again.

For most of us September was the month represented a complete recharging of batteries, a kind of renewal and regeneration. We are proudly Jewish and the beginning of the New Year aka Rosh Hashanah means the casting of sins into a nearby pond or lake. September is that month of the year that marks the conclusion of summer and autumn throws a couple of logs into the home fire, before turning on the heating ever so reluctantly and tentatively because you were convinced that autumn hadn't quite arrived yet.

At some point September will drop you a reminder of what to expect. The winds are gathering pace and intensity, there are the theatrical claps of thunder and lightning before the rainstorms announce themselves ominously, hammering against your roofs. The weather in the United Kingdom is, you feel sure, has such extremes and contrasts that maybe its unpredictability just keeps us on our toes. Perhaps they should be greeted with a resigned shrug and hearty laughter since this is always the way it's going to be.

So September is here for another 30 days or so and it'll run according to whatever your plan. You may just take it for granted, assuming that it'll never stop arriving at the same time. It is autumn according to some people and yet we look ahead to optimistic moments in our lives that will keep us healthy and happy. We will be blissfully content with our family, our adorable grandson Arthur and for all the wonderful things that life invariably offers us. Life will deliver again and we will be eternally grateful. Happy September everybody and all that follows.