AUTUMN is here again and for older townsfolk it brings back memories of gathering up the loose twigs and small branches that had fallen from the trees, to store away for burning in the hearth during the winter months.

Long before the Town Development Scheme wiped out the many hedgerows and trees that were close to the town centre, it was possible to pick blackberries on the way home from the shops.

Another feature was bags of apples, left outside gardens, which people bought.

But, for most people, autumn is the time to gaze at the colourful changes as the deciduous trees allow their leaves to go from one colour to another before they drop to the ground.

Of all the seasons, autumn is the crowning one, for let us look at what it means to us.

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Where else would you see the dew resting on the spiders’ webs after they have weaved there way across the gaps between the grass and across hedges?

The early risers, such as postmen and milkmen, have the chance to enjoy this sight before the sun dries the dew out.

Another feature is the morning mist as it rises from the meadowland and creeps across the country lanes, causing delays for vehicles as it spills onto the busier roads.

As the day reaches noon, so the spectacle of swarms of birds flying across the sky to land in masses on the roofs of buildings is noticed by people passing by.

In the woods, the smaller animals are preparing for the winter. Acorns and beech nuts are carefully stacked up to be stored away for when the cold and snow arrives.

In the countryside the fields become empty and quiet, especially at night, for the creatures who live there are nestled in their homes, awaiting warmer days.

The last apples and pears hang on to their branches, eventually falling to the ground where the birds will enjoy their sweet taste.

The boughs of the trees will be bare and the lanes, lawns and woodlands will be covered with a rich carpet of colourful leaves.

Under these leaves will be fungi that have grown to enormous sizes as the damp but humid temperatures bring them to fruition.

In Basingstoke, as in other small towns, the Victorians in the 19th century were attracted to the autumn fairs held each year on the meadow, just below the Wheatsheaf Hotel at the top of Sarum Hill.

Stalls were set up to sell produce brought in from the farms, while animals, such as sheep and goats, would also be sold.

Among the stalls, men and women would stand with signs indicating their trade to farmers hiring hands to work on their land.

After a bargain had been struck, the farmworkers would be given a small advance payment for transport to the farm where they would be working. A few sometimes spent this on food at the fair.

These fairs came to an end early in the 1880s.

In those days, autumn months had various sayings which dated back many years.

The month of October, for example, had quotes such as “Much rain in October, much wind in December” and “A warm October means a cold February”.

Autumn is one of the seasons mentioned by poets and other writers in the past, such as Robert Browning (1812-1889) who wrote of “when the long, dark, autumn evenings come”, and Thomas Hood (1799-1845) who is well known for his ode to autumn.

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In October, we have to put the clocks back one hour to end the summer daylight saving scheme for this year.

Suggested by William Willet (1856- 1915), a Chelsea builder, the idea was adopted in the United Kingdom in 1916, as a wartime measure during the First World War.

Over the years, the dates to change the clocks have varied, while, on occasions, the clocks have been put forward by two hours in the spring.

With the darker evenings, the firework celebrations to remember Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, can be let off early in the evening for young children to enjoy.

Those same children would have spent their time hunting for horse chestnuts to use for playing “conkers”, and just a week before the fireworks displays the youngsters would be dressed up for Hallowe’en night.

Ah! The enjoyment of being young!