Halloween is comin'....

'Halloween is comin' and the goose is gettin' fat. Will ya please put a penny in the ol' man's hat? If ya haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do. If ya haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you. And yer old man too.'

 Does anyone remember that? Cos that's what we sang at Halloween, long before all the 'trick or treating' shenanigans going on now. Actually the first time I ever even heard of trick or treating, was when I watched 'ET' for the very first time. Between that, and the proper scary costumes and face paints all the kids were wearing, I was enthralled! It was Halloween but not as we knew it!
 Belfast style, it was bin liners, tin foil and old sheets. Or in my case, an old 1970's maroon trouser suit of my mammy's. A bit of red lipstick on my nose and I was Coco the clown.  No question, our costumes  weren't wonderfully customized, lovingly made from 'vintage' affairs. They were cobbled together, dragged from the hot press/ wardrobe/ dressing up box, and  tied together with belts, safety pins and string. There was a lot of  'Guess what I am!' going on, and very hit and miss it was too.

Daddy's (not so) old shirt getting the fake blood and slash treatment.....ooooops!

And while we're on the subject - when did pumpkins join the party? I know that nothing says Halloween like a pumpkin, but then I was the turnip generation. And I'm sure that you can appreciate even with rose tinted glasses on,  that's just not the same. At. All.  I mean, there was Elliot and Gertie with their beautifully carved twinkling pumpkins on their doorstep, and we had....a turnip with a hole in it.

Breakfast...Halloween style!

And believe it or not, I'd never actually SEEN a pumpkin IRL, till we lived in America- they've been all over the pumpkin thing there for years- but it was only about 7 or 8 years ago that we've gone mad for it here as well. Now, there's pumpkin patches all over the place, and its all good....except, I suppose, for that hasbeen - the turnip.  Think about it, Halloween must've been a longstanding, much needed gig for the old  turnip, and then in breezes that upstart pumpkin, and that was it- Goodbye Turnip. Disappeared overnight like a vegetable betamax. And back in the day, you know, long before we had zucchinis and bean sprouts and rocket, the turnip was a player- a staple in every trolley. But now? When did you last see Jamie Oliver or Nigella getting all het up over the lowly turnip?  (Okay, I've clearly lost the plot when I'm feeling sorry for a vegetable-moving quickly on....).


Ducking for apples, masks with elastic bands on the back, monkey nuts, tarts with hidden 10p pieces  in tinfoil , sparklers, Bengal matches- these are my Halloween memories, and possibly amidst the pumpkins, the trick or treating, and the Harry Potter costumes,  I'm feeling a little bit, well, errrrm,  old. And even though I'm loving all the shiny new traditions,  I'm maybe missing the older ones a wee bit too. Maybe it's an age thing. Or maybe I should just go all vintage for Halloween around here... What about you? What did/ does your Halloween look like? Go on, do share...