October

'No chance of an Indian summer as Autumn rain sets in' said the newspaper headline as October arrived, wet and windy. So, on this Autumn morning, there are dogwalkers, heads bent against the wind and rain, stoically tramping across the fields, their dogs delighting in the downpour. And children on their way to school, the younger ones in their waterproofs, hoods pulled up, book bags clasped tightly, their mothers shooing them past the puddles. And the older ones, teenagers too cool for coats, the boys with rain dripping off their noses, nonchalantly shaking their soaking hair. The girls, shivering under their umbrellas, shrieking as cars go by and sheets of spray shoot onto the pavement.

To cheer myself up, I look at the weather forecast for Florence, one of my favourite places. But it was the same as here, heavy rain. So, here's a photo of Florence, taken in October, on a day like this.