| Product: |
Halloween 2007 |
| Date: |
19/10/07 (221 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Tudge Recipe
Disadvantages: Me going down memory lane
Halloween Tales and Tudge.
In Scotland we do it properly, Halloween that is.
I lived in England for seventeen years so believe me I know.
In England Halloween was all about some kids knocking on your door and saying “Trick or Treat”, if you were lucky, but mostly in my experience Halloween “Down South” consisted of lots of riotous older kids chucking eggs at doors and windows and trying to scare people into giving them money not sweets. Sorry to everyone who hasn’t experienced Halloween that way in England, perhaps it was just the areas I lived in!
In Scotland we have a rare old time at Halloween and really enjoy ourselves. I got an email yesterday from my friend Astrababe and she said, “Are you still doing Halloween? Yours was always the best in the Village - so the kids tell me”. Thanks for that Astrababe, made it all worthwhile.
When we lived in Skye it was in a small village and we had a Halloween Party; the children would all come round knocking at the doors and stay at ours for a while to bob for apples, bite marshmallows off of bits of string hanging from the ceiling and play Halloween games.
There was also a Halloween dance in the village hall where most of the villagers dressed up as well as the children and we had competitions, my poor daughter was a cat, one year, a witch the next and to her shame a huge bat the next, I made the wings from an old black sheet and some cardboard, she couldn’t walk the wings were that big. I won one year in my Green witch costume which I’d made from a pair of my mum’s green velour curtains, I lay down on one and drew round me and sewed a dress up with long sleeves and then made a matching witches hat from one of mums old church hats. I won the adult competition that year, but to be honest I think it should have been mum as no one in the hall recognised her.
It’s a shame really as most costumes now seem to be bought from the Supermarket, I love making them and seeing what the children can turn themselves into with whatever is handy at home.
Now that we’ve moved to Inverness and our daughter is much bigger, I have to get my fun elsewhere, now I put up big skeletons and frankensteins in the window with lit pumpkins and we fill the hallway with fake cobwebs and spiders and ghostly thingies with black and red candles at the end of the hall. I dress up as well so that the children get a proper Halloween experience when they knock on the door. It’s great fun.
Last year was a little different as my niece and nephew were here and they went round the houses, I of course had to dress up to go with them, I was a black witch and we knocked on lots of doors. (The neighbours now steer well clear of me! Cackle Cackle!)
Things are different here in Scotland; we don’t say “trick or treat” we are old fashioned Scots that like tradition and all the children are expected to go into the house where groups of friends and families wait for them to do their Halloween piece. They tell a joke or a wee story and get paid in treats while the adults all have a great laugh.
In our day, I’m sure some of you that are as old as me will remember, that we had to do more than tell a joke to get our treat, we had to recite poetry and sing songs, full versions mind you, and then we’d get a toffee apple or some Scottish tablet, it was well worth the effort! I remember reciting poetry, here’s a wee favourite of mine that was short and sweet.
The Horny Gollach.
The Horny Gollach’s an awesome beast,
Souple an’ Scaley;
He has twa horns an’ a hantle o’ feet
An a forky tailie.
Anon.
Another favourite of mine was to sing Punk Rocker, do you remember it “ I wanna be a Punk Rocker but ma mammie willnae let me, she says if am a punk she will throw me oot and hit me” It was the B side of Ally’s tartan army by Andy Cameron. It was great it even has a line which says “ I wanna dae things that are offie, like pick ma nose and dip it in ma coffee” My how I loved singing that song.
Another tradition we have is Scottish Tablet, which is like a drier version of fudge.
I’ve tried to make tablet but for me it doesn’t work, I made fudge and it came out as a cross between Tablet and Fudge; Thus Tudge was invented. I’ve been making it for Halloween for a few years now, everyone that has tasted it says it’s yummy so here’s the recipe and if I can make it anyone can.
Tudge
1 lbs Pale Soft Brown Sugar
1 Large tin Condensed Milk (the tall one)
½ lb Butter
1 Tablespoon Milk
1 Dessertspoon Vanilla Essence.
Put everything but the Vanilla Essence in a heavy pan.
Heat Slowly till the sugar dissolves, stirring all the time.
Bring to the boil, still stirring.
Boil for 15 minutes – keep stirring.
(Don’t have the heat too high or it will turn into treacle toffee (hey not such a bad idea)
Beat slightly, stir in Vanilla Essence, beat again.
Pour into a greased tin. Mark into squares before it is cold.
Then eat all you can before anyone else gets near it, it has taken you ages and it’s all yours.
Enjoy!
Last but not least on Halloween, make sure you keep your CCTV on all night so you can laugh at all your friends and neighbours costumes the next day when you play it back.
And try to keep a glass of sherry or two for the poor cold adults that have to stand outside and wait for the “weans” to do their party piece.
Have a lovely Halloween everyone, I know I will; now I just have to figure out what costume I’m making this year.
Sheena The Green Witch 2007.
Summary: Don't you wish Halloween was how it used to be?
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