I’ve heard that pumpkins are in short supply this year, but there were plenty at Abergavenny Famers’ Market this week, and the kids on half-term were having great fun carving them out.
I do like seeing the cut-out faces lit up with a candle on Halloween night, 31st October. Jack-o-Lanterns made from pumpkins are a fairly modern thing – traditionally beets, potatoes or even turnips were carved out for use as lanterns.
When I was a child we did a lot of bobbing for apples at Halloween – we got very wet, but we weren't scared! That tradition was brought to Britain by the Romans , who had a goddess of the trees and fruits called Pomona – hence the French word for apple, pomme.
If you’d like to try out some apple-bobbing, go along to the Horse Hospital at St Maugham’s near Monmouth on October 28th or 29th, beween 6pm and 9pm for their Halloween “Spooktactular”. There will be lots of fun competitions for the kids, including one for Mummy-wrapping.
If you want to go ghost-hunting, there are a couple of pubs not so far from Abergavenny that are among the top 10 haunted buildings in Wales. The things that went on in the past at the Skirrid Mountain Inn in Llanvihangel Crucorney are too scary for me to write about – look them up on their website at www.skirridmountaininn.co.uk if you want to know more. And there have been lots of reported sightings of ghosts at The Queen’s Head Hotel in Monmouth....
Don't forget that not everyone welcomes Trick-or-Treat visitors on Hallowe'en; the elderly in particular can find it unnerving having to open the door to masked strangers after dark. Gwent Police have produced posters that some people will display on the night, requesting to be left undisturbed. Please respect them, and don't leave any of sort of mess or damage.
Go out on All Hallow's Eve if you dare – me, I’m staying home to watch the Halloween spectacular on Strictly!