Autumn hasn't been quite autumn this year for Nigel, as the school run has now taken on a completely different route, with Iris having moved on to Middle School and with it, there has been no conkering or many memories made.

New traditions will no doubt be made, like Bertie and Nigel nipping into Lldl to shelter from the rain or choose a bagel or some other such treat for Iris, to help bide their time while waiting for her to rendezvous with them just by the dentist!!!  

So, it's a bittersweet affair when Nigel has to pass what is now left of their beloved conker tree each night on his way home, a place where they shared so many happy moments, with Iris filling the pockets of her skirt with so many conkers it could barely hold up under the weight!

The tree's branches were cut down without warning last year, but it's heart still remains. 

It's fighting back, with new shoots growing around the bottom of its trunk ......

...... and as for the top!

Who knows, perhaps in another couple of hundred years a little monkey and his beloved niece and nephew might start the age old traditional all over again!