It’s that time of year, when the evenings start drawing in, the weather gets colder and more windy. The leaves start falling and it requires a bit more effort to get up, get dressed and leave the warm and cosy house. 

It’s also a few weeks since the kids went back to school. We’ve settled into new routines and everyone is just a little bit more worn out - mentally and physically. 

The kids have already caught and spread the annual back-to-school cold, there’s already been a note home about head lice, and I’ve heard a few whispers that the dreaded C-word is doing the rounds. Nice. 

We’re in this now, winter is approaching, and there’s no getting away from the fact that Christmas is just around the corner. 

M&S and Tesco don’t help with the anxiety with their aisles of Christmas goodies. I know some people like to spread the cost (I genuinely have a friend who has done her Christmas shopping) however the vast majority surely just want to clutch on to the last glimmers of summer, and enjoy autumn first? 

Yes it seems summer has well and truly left the building for 2023, but there are some nice parts of autumn that make the season enjoyable. Simple joys like that lovely feeling of getting out your favourite woolly jumper, and the first 'test' of the central heating (although if you listen to my step-dad, it's definitely not meant to be on until October 31 - at the very earliest), maybe even the return of the pumpkin spice latte in Starbucks. Also in amongst the gloom, there are a few dates that we can look forward to - fireworks night being one of them. 

This year I hope to be able to attend two fireworks nights. The one at my children's school Swanmore Primary, on Friday, November 3, which is always a great community affair. 

I am always amazed at the effort that goes into this school's display, they really go all out, and the community comes together to put on a great event and to raise money for the Friends of Swanmore Primary School. The whole village is invited, although they usually have to buy a ticket on the gate. It certainly draws in a large crowd for a little village primary school. 

Of course, there's also the big event in Winchester at North Walls Recreation Ground on Saturday, November 4, which sees a torchlit procession from Broadway from 6pm. 

The bonfire will be lit around 7.15pm and fireworks shortly after at 7.45pm. 

Proceeds from tickets, merchandise and donations are given to local good causes, selected by Winchester Round Table.

I hope that this year the team from the Hampshire Chronicle will also be putting on their high-vis tabards and volunteering on the night as part of our community days. 

Each year, our parent company Newsquest allows employees to volunteer for a charity or community organisation for the day and still get paid. 

Last year, we all took turns at the Beacon, the homeless shelter in Winchester, where we cleaned, met some of the residents and workers, and really got an understanding of life at the centre.

This year, with time running out, when it was said at the latest Winchester Rotary Club meeting that volunteers were still needed for the main fireworks night, I thought my team might like to get in on the action.

They will get to do something in the community at an event that means so much to so many families who attend - but that also raises money for good causes. Plus we might get to see some fireworks and enjoy a pint in the pub afterwards. 

Talking of good causes, I was at the latest Rotary Club meeting with Winchester Talking Newspaper as they were speaking about the good work they do. 

They have been operating from the top floor of the Hampshire Chronicle office since January, but they have a long history going back 30 years of reading and recording an audio version of the Hampshire Chronicle and delivering it to people with visual impairment across the city. 

They have an 80-strong team of volunteers but it was a pleasure to meet Celia Ferguson who has been volunteering with them for most of their operating years - even housing the recording studio not once but twice over the course of their many moves. 

And it was also equally nice to meet David Farthing, the former president, and see his passion for the charity and service, as well as listener Keith Hatter.

To see more of their work go to winchestertalkingnews.com/