Autumn reminiscing by Sue Bavey
The leaves were changing colour now, browns, oranges, yellows and reds could be seen throughout the forest, where only recently everything had been a lush green. Acorns were strewn across the path and greedy squirrels chittered in the trees up above. The smell of logs burning in hearths permeated the air as people resisted turning on their central heating, instead relying on a cosy fire to keep out the chill. Every local café was advertising its seasonal pumpkin-spiced wares and people could be seen putting out skeletons and witches on their lawns, while pumpkins and chrysanthemums added colour to their steps and doorways.
My children were discussing what costumes they would wear for Halloween. My daughter wanted to be Audrey, the alien people-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors. This would be a challenge to make. I scoured the local costume shops and online stores wondering where to start to create such a thing. I was very surprised to find a secondhand Venus fly trap costume for sale on eBay which was similar enough to Audrey to be acceptable. We decided to buy it and added some dolls’ legs in the mouth area and blood stains to make it look more sinister. My son was easier to please. He wanted a knight’s costume and we already had a sword and shield that had been bought for him during a trip to a castle, while visiting our relatives in England. A helmet and fake chainmail would not break the bank.
Soon it was time for our annual apple-picking trip to a local farm, picking and eating plenty of different types until our tummies and bags of apples were equally full. We also visited the pumpkin patch from which we chose a trolley-load of pumpkins, for carving. First, we would cut off the top part to get access to the guts of the pumpkins and then begin scooping out their seeds and pulpy innards. Once they were hollow we would begin tracing a design onto the outside and then cut along the lines we had traced with a sharp knife. I chose a cat design, my son picked a scary face and my daughter was more ambitious with a witch on a broomstick. This we did while listening to a Halloween playlist and singing our hearts out to such classics as Purple People Eater and The Monster Mash. The carving session went well and we placed the pumpkins on our front steps with flameless candles inside them, ready for Halloween.
Dinner on Halloween evening was grilled cheese sandwiches cut into the shape of jack o’ lanterns and accompanied by hot dog sausages wrapped in thin strips of pastry, which made them look like mummies. Bat-shaped pretzels and cookies shaped like coffins followed and then we were ready for the main event. We put on our costumes, grabbed ‘Trick or Treat’ bags and went to visit the local retirement home. Its inhabitants greeted us warmly, thrilled to see children wearing costumes and told us stories about the days when they themselves had been trick or treating. Mostly housebound, these residents were very generous with their candy and greatly appreciated our visit and those of other local families.
These were our traditions when the children were young, but nowadays one is at college and the other is too large, at 6ft 3ins, for trick or treating. Instead, we will take him and his friends to a local farm for a flashlight corn maze. Last year this was a big success, despite a drizzly evening. Fog had descended and an eerie atmosphere accompanied it. The sky was cloudy and the moon was obscured as we arrived at the site of the maze. Five teenage boys tumbled out of our car, flashlights in hand and made their way into the dark corn maze. It took them the better part of an hour to find their way out again and everyone seemed to have had a great time. They were eager for the farm’s homemade ice cream, despite the chill of a foggy, wet evening. We have just two more of these enchanted Halloweens until our son will also be away at college and our traditions will no doubt change once more. I don’t envisage my husband and I battling our way through a corn maze. Instead, I think we will probably take a leisurely walk around the local neighbourhoods to see all of the decorated houses and perhaps end up in a restaurant. Our town holds an annual competition for the most elaborately designed Halloween decorations and provides a map to drive around town and see the competition entrants. It can be tricky to fit them all into one evening, as there are usually so many, but it really is a treat to see them. The imaginations of some people absolutely know no bounds!
