From Fitzroy's Private Diary (Extract 106)

I’m rather fond of autumn. The nights are longer and the days shorter. Various nocturnal activities are easier and can start earlier. Of course, one must watch out for all the damned leaves, but any gardener worth his salt should be raking them up and burning them.

The close of a bright, brisk autumn day, the air scented with wood and leaf smoke, and my heart alive with expectation, is one of my favourite times. In my work, I’ve travelled to distant parts of the globe, and I will be the first to admit that I like the heat (linen or native clothing being a necessary requirement), but is there anything else quite as fine as a British autumn evening?

At this time of the year, I enjoy my evening walks with Jack more than usual. I stroll along with ease, tip-tapping my cane on the pavements, which are beginning to frost, while Jack ferrets through any missed piles of leaves to root out sleepy hedgehogs. These emerge, snout high, sniffing the air, and move with most humorous, confused, and rolling gait, not unlike a drunken sailor on shore leave. Yesterday evening, a particularly well-rounded one, with larger than usual black eyes - like spectacles on its tiny face - reminded me quite strongly of Bertram after one brandy too many. This caused me to give a crack of laughter so loud that it frightened some sleeping ducks by the lake. This was unfortunate as Jack has a particular dislike of ducks, but although freshly awoken, these showed a zesty earnestness to escape and were quickly aloft. Jack ran after them, barking and jumping as high as he could, but he didn’t get as much as a single feather.

I should record, that while Jack would have done the ducks harm if he could, (who doesn’t enjoy a nice breast of duck?), he never does more than simply bark at the hedgehogs.

It has always seemed to me that he resents any creature sleeping when he regards it as being daytime. He is very much an up-and-at-it creature, much like myself. As most of my female acquaintances know, I very much enjoy being up and at it.