Opinion : Autumn is on the way with all that it brings….

There was an autumnal nip in the air when yours truly got up this morning.

The leaves are falling on my apple tree and the sun sets before 7pm. Yes, autumn is definitely on it’s way.

Walking around the town centre today I happened to see another sign of seasonal change. Namely the first Christmas related items on sale.

A display of red and white jumpers with a picture of Father Christmas on the front greeted me as I alighted from the escalator of a large town centre clothes shop. With 89 shopping days left to Christmas I didn’t feel the urge to avail myself of the festive jumper.

Soon our town will be awash with festive goods as the retailers try to get us to part with our hard earned cash in order to celebrate on the most special day in the year.

The last full week in September is in my opinion a bit early to have Christmas items on display. By straggling the money spending season out I fear it ruins the magic of the whole event.

Maybe there should be a rule introduced where by Christmas goods do not appear in the shops until the the end of October or maybe even until Halloween is over?

Sadly most of my friends have passed on so there is no need for me to purchase that many presents however this year I have decided that any presents my good self does purchase will be sourced from local businesses and preferably independent traders. Indeed there is nobody who supports the traders of Wycombe like my good self.

I wonder how many free parking days we will get in Wycombe this year?

It would be nice to have an extra black bin collection during Christmas week to help dispose of all the extra rubbish that is generated by wrapping paper and other festive waste.

I do hope the festive lights are as good as last years, who knows maybe they will be better this year.

You know I feel Christmas is such a wasteful time of year. With so many unwanted or unsuitable presents there is an awful lot of money spent giving people things they just don’t need.

Take last year, my colleagues at work inundated me with tins of deodorant. Indeed I received so many there was enough to last the whole year. It’s not as if my good self needs it after all my weekly bath is enough to keep me smelling fresh and clean.

With a possible rise in interest rates on the horizon and tough economic times to follow presents should be practical rather than luxurious in their nature. What’s the point of having tins of deodorant if there isn’t any food on the table.

Speaking of food I wonder how much will be wasted at Christmas this year?

Christmas is a very wasteful time of year in which an excess of rubbish is generated and lots of money is spent on things that maybe aren’t needed.

Maybe the concept of an ‘ethical Christmas’ needs to be introduced into our society? With no food waste, useful and practical gifts it would make sense in the current economic climate.

What do you think?

*My next blog will be published on Tuesday evening around 8pm here on the WycombeToday.com website.