Conkers

 Conkers. A quintessential signal of the arrival of Autumn. They were the last thing I expected to see on Saturday, when Connor, his little sister and I headed to Poole Park for a cosy afternoon hot chocolate.

We picked up hot drinks from The Kitchen - who serve up delicious hot chocolates topped with whipped cream and marshmallows, as well as a selection of my favourite TeaPigs teas. We took them in takeaway cups out into the park to enjoy the view, and my what a view it is. 

 We were minding our own business, chatting, drinking hot tea, photographing Ella throwing autumn leaves around (isn't she so super cute?!), when we were narrowly missed by a falling conker. It totally took us by surprise, we hadn't realised the trees were stuffed with conkers! A closer look revealed the trees were adorned in them, and that's how the fun started...

 Quicker than you could say 'I declare a conker war', Con and Ella had located a giant stick, and what followed was a good forty minutes of the pair of them jumping around like idiots, trying to shake conkers from the trees. In all honesty, watching the pair of them make fools of themselves was the best laugh I've had in ages - my cheeks hurt by the end of it.

But most of all, it felt like the perfect cosy autumn afternoon. Leaves falling, conkers crashing down, the occasional cold wind picking up being counteracted by the warmth of our drinks. I ended up with a handbag full of conkers, a great reminder of a wonderful, simple afternoon. And handy for keeping the spiders at bay too!

I'm just waiting for the spiky skins to fall off!