Sometimes crap is just crap and one time is when it's delivered gilt-wrapped. The Hughes is no more than the relaunch of a brand. Plath-co had recently started, whilst maintaining market share, to look a bit lustreless and investors could anticipate no further growth. As for Hughes, it was in freefall (almost as drastic as Howard Hughes' flying dynosaur). What we've seen is just like Microsoft coming to the rescue of Apple - Hughes has finally agreed to reconnect with Plath and both brands are live again; bestsellerdom! Plath-Co analysts respond to Hughes profit forecasts! (see the Buffalo list...) Hughes goes touchy-feely... And the stuff is just as thinly disgusting as you would expect. And what's wrong with autumn? Well, I remember autumns years ago - uh, slippery rotting leaves and dogshit, greasy pavingstones, chipfat and drizzle. This year I did see the one tree visible from my air-conditioned office try on some different colourways. What's wrong with 'autumn' is 'literature'. But of course, seasonal field labour does remain an experience for many workers in fenland. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%