Autumn love #2: it must be leaf

When I was eighteen I used to run a Saturday morning activity once a month, for eight- to eleven-year-olds. What a dream assignment that was: all poster paint and pipe cleaners, and peeling PVA glue off the back of your hand and pretending it’s skin. One October I waltzed home from a lecture, stuffing flame-coloured fallen leaves into a bag, and that Saturday we made autumn cut-and-stick pictures. My little activity group are now the age I was then, which – let’s not think about that, thanks very much. But I have lovely memories of collecting those leaves.

All this is to say that I rather wanted autumn love activity #2 to involve leaves and PVA glue. So when we found ourselves with a spare afternoon in Luton, on Saturday, we headed across for a return visit to Stowe landscape gardens. This might be my new favourite National Trust. Edward slept obligingly in the pushchair, and Henry had a fabulous time. Except when it was time to get back into the pushchair himself, but you know. What kind of outing would it be without a minor meltdown in wellies? It wouldn’t feel right.

Meltdown aside. We got leaves. Tonight, we stick.

Can’t tell you how good it feels to have a boy back in a bear suit, incidentally. We are our very best selves with a boy in a bear suit. Now we can get on.