Squashed

The sort of day that boosts your optimism.

First a flu jab. All hail medical science, the NHS and a strong well-funded state that supports co-operation, commonwealth, mutual support and a humane society, on the basis of equitable taxation

Then feeding an absent friend's cat. Do animals have a soul? Who knows; our visit was appreciated, affection and gratitude were exchanged, we all felt better for it

Then great news: a new camera is on the way. This is not likely to lift my photography skills significantly, but my hope is that it might support some wildlife shots where the subject is more that 3 pixels centre-frame

Then a quick stop to meet the newest addition to our circle of friends, one month into this world. We were permitted a cuddle. Fears about the future somehow recede a little when you look new life in the face and hold its hand

Then this shot: our weekly visit to a local organic grower to pick up veggie-boxes for distribution. The squash and pumpkin harvest is laid out at the field edge in a triumphal parade in low autumn sunlight. Trooping the colour, so to speak

Rounded off with a meandering route home through Oxfordshire byways at their autumnal best. Close encounters with kites, buzzards and dragon-flies pile our good fortune even higher

By the time we got home, the third Chancellor this year was squeezed out and the fourth pressed into service. Optimism rises