Autumn, with its crisp air, crunchy leaves, and hide-and-seek sunshine, is here.

Yorkshire definitely knows how to put on a good, lingering autumn, with lots of chances to wrap up in cosy knitwear, and pull out favourite chili and stew recipes for slow-cooking Sundays.

In Toronto the fall season starts with sticky, humid t-shirt weather, brief interludes of chilly jacket weather, and – far too quickly – intrepid Torontonians are back to zipping up parkas, wrapping thick scarves and pulling on gloves and hats.

Long live invigorating jacket weather, and having fun with layers!

Other things bringing me joy:

• Because I am all about English and Scottish history these days, we recently took a road trip further north to what I kept accidentally calling ‘Northumbria’ (a medieval kingdom), but what are actually the present-day counties of Northumberland and Cumbria. We had a peaceful walk on the beach at Bamburgh Castle, a quick gaze at Hadrian’s Wall (Sycamore Gap is pictured above), and a stunning drive home through the Lake District. My mind thrilled to all the history, and my eyes soaked up all the splendor. Trips like this are why we moved over here.
• After several months of bingeing, I’m all caught up with the podcast Rex Factor, where Graham and Ali review all the kings and queens of England (1st series) and of the Scots (2nd series). They’re partially responsible for my current obsession with history and I’m totally psyched to see them live in a few weeks.
• It was very cool to tag along when Jeff was the guest of the lovely John Marley on his bi-weekly radio show, ‘Jazz on Tempo’ with John Marley on Tempo 107.4 FM. Although Jeff’s interview was live and is now lost to to the gods of ephemera, you can tune into future episodes of John’s show on alternating Monday nights from 8 – 10 pm (GMT+1). I know we will be listening tomorrow night – John’s fantastic and supremely knowledgeable about all things jazz.
• Always love a good thrift-bookstore find. Most recently it was picking up The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook for a couple of pounds. I’ve already taken the pumpkin pie recipe out for a spin when we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. It was a hit, even with English friends who’d never had it before.
• I’m glad I’m part of the world’s population that can experience audio frisson – and for me it’s always in the same place in certain songs, no matter how often I listen to them. (one fave: AF607105 by Charlotte Gainsbourg, with my goosebumps appearing on cue at 2:27)