Notes on autumn

Melancholia mingled with beauty

Nov 04, 2025

Hi lovely, I’m Aimée, a heritage copywriter. Here, on my Substack, I share seasonal tales from my little corner of the Cotswolds. I write about food, heritage, books, seasonal living, countryside rituals and whimsical musings. Come on in, take off your boots, and cosy up by the fire. I’ll pop the kettle on.

Reader, I did not mean to stay away so long from my beloved little publication, but life has a way of consuming every part of you. Here I am, standing at the threshold between autumn and winter, but before we tip into the darker half of the year, I want to take a moment to appreciate these soft golden months.

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons here in the Cotswolds. The smell of damp air mingled with wood smoke. Root veg blended down into a broth and served with chunks of crusty bread slathered with salty butter. Slipping into bed that hour earlier with hot chocolate and rum.

This year has been slower, softer. My son started at a new school, and so my life has shifted. He gets picked up in the morning and dropped off in the afternoon- my days no longer punctuated by “the school run.” I miss it immensely; the milling around the school gates, talking to other mamas, running back to the house because I forgot his P.E. kit, an impromptu coffee at the pub when the playground empties.

I admit that I’ve felt rather lonely this autumn. I love the micro rhythm of our daily lives, but when I zoom out, the routine makes me feel like my world is shrinking.

My son is autistic, and my mind has been full of “what ifs.” What if something happens to me? What if he never learns to read or write? What if he never gets a job or lives a life that is separate from me? What if I never meet someone who will love me?

This has been the landscape of my interior world while the world outside turns shades of russet and gold.

There have been lots of lovely things this autumn. Exploring Snowshill Manor - an eclectic collection of oddities and curiosities brimming in every room.

Sharing a mulled cider with my lovely friend & creative partner Kate Cullen at Daylesford.

Trundling down the canal path by torchlight in the lashing rain. Hunkering down in my friend’s narrowboat with cups of cocoa. Reading poetry to each other by the glow of the fire.

Spending a blustery weekend in North Cornwall. Tucking into pumpkin pie and rewatching Far from the Madding Crowd. Exploring the magical cobbled streets of Clovelly.

Going pumpkin picking and decorating my front door.

I hope now to get fully back in the swing of posting here on Substack! I’ve been reading a lot, so I’m hoping to share with you some cosy November reads.