It was only four weeks ago that W and I were driving along the road from Cheesetown to Q'ferry. It's a stretch of road that sweeps past Dundas Castle with views out across fields towards the bridge.


I was driving so I didn't stop for a picture. You'll just have to imagine the autumn colours across the fields all the way through to one of those big empty blue East of Scotland skies for yourself.

Anyway we were on our way to pick up stuff from his flat; x-box games the cherub needed, more clothes and book tapes. I think the music was Asher Roth, and we'd been discussing series two of the Wire, when W suddenly came out with:

"I'm dreading winter"

And I thought I knew what he meant, and I thought I didn't want to go there. I had a feeling he didn't want to talk too much about it either. So I fluffed it with something along the lines of, "maybe it won't be so bad....we're having a good autumn..."

And this morning Ned and I were out marching through the rain around the reservoir behind Cheesetown, and I remembered this non-conversation. And even though we're in November now, the birch trees still have their flame coloured leaves, and it's still a warm drizzle we're having, and it's probably not as bad as he thought it would be.