It’s Emily and William here writing this week about the recent storms and the approaching colder months.

We both like this time of year, when the leaves on the trees change colour from green to brown as they get ready for winter. We love it watching the leaves fall to the ground, so they are crunchy underfoot, and when you walk on them they make a lovely sound.

One of my (William) jobs is to brush and blow the leaves up in Dorchester Borough Gardens, and in the skate park to help keep the skateboards safer. There are still loads of children there some days, even during the pandemic.

We noticed that after Storm Alex, there was a lot of debris from the strong winds and flooding. It was a busy week for me with lots to clear up from that. It’s harder when the leaves are wet so to pick them up we use a hoover, which makes it much easier. We then put them on the compost heap in the gardens, hidden in the hedges!

We have been getting ready for when the clocks go back, and it is darker at both ends of the day. I, Emily don’t like it so much as the day feels much shorter, and 5pm feels like 9pm!

We both go to bed earlier in the winter because it’s darker and colder. Apparently if people put on appropriate clothing and get on with life in winter, it can reduce depression. Others say we should behave like animals and hunker down, to preserve our energy ready for next spring. We both prefer the first, to get on with life. Hibernating is boring, but we will probably have a balance of both!

The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff