Poetry for all seasons

This may be the warmest November since records began, but it's still Autumn and thankfully the chance to enjoy all the wonderful hallmarks of the season, from the changing colours of the leaves to an excuse to have a nurturing log fire.  Last weekend I was given the surprise gift of a poetry book from a friend I hadn't seen since my birthday.  This thoughtful present will last throughout the year as encapsulated by it's title:  "Poem for the Day" edited by Nicholas Albery.  A week into the book I realised my favourite poem appropriate for now was featured in the September section, so I've re-visited the famous lines by Keats in "To Autumn," a poem I learnt many years ago whilst at school as part of my 'O' level English Literature syllabus.  I was fortunate to have an enthusiastic and talented English teacher who imbued the class with a love of poetry.  Receiving my new book a few days ago reminded me how much pleasure poetry gives.  With it comes a welcome pause to think and reflect for a few minutes each day, providing an anchor in our busy lives and a sense of perspective.  Perhaps you may have disconnected with the world of poetry too or haven't yet had the chance to explore it's horizons.  There's another book I would highly recommend to re-ignite or encourage an interest:  "Poems to last a lifetime" collated by Daisy Goodwin.  In the meantime I'll leave you with the opening lines of "To Autumn" which will hopefully provide an inspiring few moments in your day:

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;
To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core...

Borough Market, London

Tucked away behind the old Hop Exchange, near Southwark Cathedral and London Bridge, Borough Market is a magnet for foodies.  Currently in the midst of a major reconstruction project this doesn't deter the crowds of people keen to buy inspiring ingredients and artisan products from the various stalls and surrounding shops offering delicious baking, to chacuterie, wines and cheeses, meat, fish, a colourful array of fruit and vegetables, plus beautiful flowers.  The perfect one-stop location for an instant dinner party shopping list.  On arriving at the market my first priority was to have a morning coffee and I followed my nose to Monmouth, centrally situated on a prominent corner site where there was a queue of caffine addicts all prepared to wait for their shot.  The Monmouth passion for coffee knows no bounds and their dedication to roasting coffee from single farms, estates and cooperatives worldwide has attracted a loyal following.  Exotic sounding plantations from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatamala, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Indonesia supply Monmouth with beans which they roast to exacting specification at their own premises in Bermondsey.  The featured coffee on the day I was at Borough Market was from Tres Pueblos in Nicaragua, described as being "dark plum and honey with soft acidity and full body", sounding more like a wine. Whilst waiting in the queue the woman behind me, a regular it transpired, asked me if I was "local".  When I explained no, that I was based in West Sussex, her curious reply was "I thought you had that smell about you".  Such a strange comment which I couldn't work out - whether the fresh air of the countryside somehow differentiated me from the polluted-clothes aroma of someone who lived in central London.  Whatever her reasoning she was just one aspect of the unique phenomena which Monmouth seems to have created.  Their winning coffee formula means there is always a queue, a fun high-energy atmosphere (hardly surprising considering the volume of caffeine consumed) encouraging strangers to chat and that feel-good factor of being a Londoner.  Even if I no longer live in the capital I'm a Londoner by birth and have a strong affinity to the city, returning for a fix whenever I feel like it.  Borough Market is definitely a place that inspires repeat visits.