According to the Met Office, autumn in the UK began on 1 September, yet in the hedgerows around my home there have been signs of the season’s arrival for many weeks now, after the warmest summer on record.
Hawthorn trees, which usually produce their crimson berries from mid-September onwards, have been festooned since the second week of August; while blackthorns are drooping under the weight of huge, ripe, purple sloes.
