I’ve now spent a whole year living in Cyprus, and I can safely say that autumn is my favourite season here. I should point out that my first 12 months have been wonderful. And, apart from a few early hiccups, everything has gone very smoothly. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the summer months, in fact, they are the best times for relaxing and doing nothing, because the heat is so strong, but there’s a beautiful sense of nature being reborn when autumn rolls around.

It’s almost like an English spring, because all the plants, grasses and trees start to turn green again. You can finally turn the air conditioning off and enjoy a better night’s sleep during the coolevenings. Autumn doesn’t really start here until the end of October, which suits me just fine as I sit smugly and listen to all my friends back in the UK, and other areas of Europe, complaining about the onset of winter. I’m looking forward to a very mild Christmas!