18th October Which side of the fence are you on?

Autumn is for many people the most magical time of the year A time when there is that first chill in the air. A time when our summer wardrobe slowly but surely get replaced by more substantial multi layered clothing. A time when the leaves on the trees start to change colour and unfortunately refuse to stay in situ but instead decide to descend on mass from on high.

For Sandra and Bob, this is an unmitigated seasonal nightmare, for no sooner has either of them spent a whole morning gathering the shedded foliage into suitably sized piles than a gust of wind, an over excited dog or a child high on e numbers and additives, disperses said piles to the four corners of the garden once again. And don't even mention the guttering, downpipes and drain holes.

Just over the other side of the fence, whilst being subjected to exactly the same climatic conditions, seasonal leaf fall for Stacey and Glen, is simply a magical kaleidascope of rich reds, half burnt oranges and an array of yellows. This is all because Stacey and Glen are rich enough to employ a gardener, who is more than happy to pretend he is doing a minimum wage version of Charlie Dimmock, whilst actually ending up elbows deep clearing decomposed leaves that have turned into a sludge from various nooks and crannies.

Speaking to Grace Under Pressures very own perennial, Stacey remarked, " Yeah we just love it. We often wait until 'whatchacallit' th garden chappie has swept up all the leaves into one big pile before necking our marshmallow topped hot chocolates and leaping from our decking slap back into the middle of the leaves, sending them scattering in all directions. Which is fine because 'thingamebob' can collect them all together again tomorrow."