At other times of year, 6 weeks can go by with little to show for the passing of time. But the period that lies between the end of July and beginning of September makes a line in the year which feels to me, not unlike a weather front, or the beginning of a new series. Tone, mood, and rhythm are all slightly adjusted on the other side.

Passers-by have picked up speed, lanyards swing importantly around necks, kids have swapped t-shirts and sandals for room-to-grow blazers and pristinely unscuffed shoes. The just-finished A-Levelers are packing to leave for whatever’s next, and although it’s still mild enough outside for cardigans not coats, the sky is overcast with autumnal promise.

The year is on the turn, and summer has become a completed story to add to the others from before.

Meanwhile on Lower Clapton Road no less than three different religious communities mark this passing of time by welcoming in their various New Years. From meals with family, to scattering scented grass to eating apples and honey, the mosque, the Ethiopian church and the synagogues are all celebrating the turning of the year. And although I don’t think we can (yet) call ourselves an organised religion, I feel like there’s plenty of room for us to join in this diversity of festivities with our own version of a New Year for Knitters. The prospect of longer evenings and colder days makes this the perfect time to be delighting in seeking out the patterns and wools which will keep us and our folk warm over the next months.

Welcome to the autumn everyone – and Happy New Knitting Year!