Summer's over!

It's that time of year again, when summer suddenly seems to have abandoned us. The evenings are drawing in rapidly and the mornings feel damp and chilly. Leaves have started changing colour and the first conkers are dropping off the trees.

It's the ideal to reflect on what has happened over the past few months and console ourselves that summer will return again next year.

One way of marking the passing time is counting off the events as they occur. The annual joust took place at Arundel Castle in July, with appalling weather on some days. The knights, ladies and horses were soaked and the crowds huddled under their umbrellas watching the tournament.

That was followed by Arundel Festival at the end of August, with the town taking part in a variety of performances, art trails and the like. The annual Shakespeare performances took place in the Collector Earl's Garden, with GB Theatre Company presenting "Much Ado about Nothing" and "Twelfth Night." It's a spectacular setting, with Arundel Cathedral in the background and with good weather, a glorious sunset to the right.

Earlier this month we had our work's outing - a day trip to Blenheim Palace, with a guided tour of the main rooms. It certainly is a completely different type of building to the Castle, but both are interesting and attractive in their own way. We were lucky with the weather and sat in the gardens at lunchtime, enjoying a glass of wine. Some photos of the grounds are at the top and bottom of this blog.

There are only six or so weeks left until the end of the season, as the Castle closes at the beginning of November. The cleaners and maintenance staff will then have full run of the building and will be preparing everything for re-opening next year.