Wooooooooh!!!!! Yeah! I LOVE Halloween. I know it's silly, but there is something about the way the air smells and the way the trees look that takes me right back to my childhood. Granted, Halloween in England didn't really catch on as we know it in Canada until recently. Trick or Treat was something that belonged to movies like E.T and the Adams Family. As kids, we usually ducked our heads into a bucket of cold water for a scabby apple (duck apple night) or put on a blindfold and got lockjaw trying to catch one as it dangled from string (while our parents peed themselves laughing at our expense) Honestly, there was always someone at school the next day with a cricked neck! We didn't dress up and go house to house like the kids over here. In fact, I don't think this was a concept we ever really grasped then - a point proven by the kid who knocked on my door one Oct 31st. " Trick or Treat!!" he shouted. "What does that mean?" I asked. "Well", said the kid, looking perplexed, "you have to give us a treat or else you play a trick on us!!!" I don't think he was too impressed with the bucket of water I hurled over him, complete with half eaten apples! (O.K, only joking about that bit, but honestly, .....) I did put on some pretty impressive Halloween parties at my house though when I was a "gay divorcee"  complete with black bin bags as curtains and lots of goodies involving green jelly and gummy worms (and blood --red wine-- for the adults to drink). I remember one hysterically funny Halloween in particular where we had eight kids all crying by 9.o'clock because I turned out the lights and read them Grimms Fairy Tales in the dark - have you ever read those things? They're evil!! These guys were obviously the ancestors of Steven King!! Seriously, they make Itchy and Scratchy look like your typical household pets! And talking of evil, we put up our "Outside Halloween Display" this weekend. You know the deal... gravestones, hanging bats, cut off hand on the barbeque.... I made a cool scary monster and sat it in a chair. We now have a cute little cat which has taken up  residence on it's lap!  The cat is there every time I come home and looks totally content! Just goes to show how selfish cats are... They don't care if you look like Frankenstein's monster, as long as you can keep them warm, they use you and abuse you!! (must remember to re-stuff the monsters flattened crotch before Friday!)  Know what else I love about this season??? Crumpets are back! (Yeah, I know you can find them most days of the year if you look) But... I'm the kinda girl who likes to keep my seasons and celebrations seperate! More special, if you like, to have "permission" to eat things. Crumpets and pumpkin pies star in October and finish in November, Tangerines and candy canes are allowed from November to end of January, Cadbury's cream eggs are March and April and ice cold beer is acceptable from April to April. You get the gist! And my VERY FAVOURITE thing about this time of year is the fact that, starting Saturday morning, ALL the Halloween candy goes on sale (half price or less).YEAH !!!!

Its begging to be eaten, and I know just the person to do the job.(scabby apples my eye!!)