Halloween 2006

Some years ago, I recall having a conversation with a friend about why we dress up in silly costumes at Halloween. My own thoughts were that – like the practice of trick or treating – it was an Americanism imported into this country, intended solely for the retail industry to commercialise the day and extract yet more money from us. But no, my friend assured me. This was an ancient custom that was practised by the Celts in order to scare away the evil spirits that were believed to be wandering the Earth on this night. I don’t think I hid my disbelief of this explanation very well. Surely if said evil spirits were so easily fooled by mortals dressing up in scary outfits, ...  Read the complete review

Ok, as the Halloween competition has gone on there have been less and less different ideas to write about, so having left it so late to put my final entry in I have resorted to celebrating Halloween on a budget. Not everyone has a stack load of money to buy luscious treats to give out to the kids, nor to buy expensive costumes that adorn the supermarket aisles. So here are my suggestions and ideas that have all been tried before by me and the kids to keep Halloween celebrations to under a tenner! --Costumes— Please note that the design of the costume will need an adult present and you should never leave children alone with the plastci bags. Ok, if ...  Read the complete review

The birth of Deraj the dark guide was a silent affair lost deep in the woods the event was only captured by a solitary group of amateur film makers on a poor quality hand held digital camcorder. The group was filming in the wood as part of a film assignment called The Which Crown Project and they had become hopelessly lost within the dark confines of the ancient wood which was also rumoured to contain within its dark interior the castle lair of the fabled crown maker Enna. As the wind whipped up through the trees the bloody birth of Deraj was witnessed as he emerged from the loins of Ooyood, instantly white apparitions appeared and a terrible siren sound ...  Read the complete review

When I was little, I was entranced by the American TV programmes I watched on our crappy little telly. - For any younger readers, these were the days before the remote control, we had imagination (and fewer channels) back then and ingeniously used pool cues and broom handles. - Programmes like The Wonder Years and films like Hocus Pocus taught me the magical lesson of ‘Trick or Treat?’ As a very young child, this seemed to me like yet another Santa or Tooth Fairy. Pure magic and something for nothing. To my great disappointment, my parents refused to take me out to do this and dismissively referred to it as Americanised begging. In hindsight of course, they ...  Read the complete review

Hints and Tips for a Traditional Halloween Celebration *****History of Halloween***** Halloween celebrations go a long way back into the dawns of our Islands’ history. The Celtic People were the first to celebrate Halloween, calling it Samhain. It was then a festival to celebrate the end of the summer, and the beginning of winter. Not quite a harvest festival, but a worshipping and farewell for a while to the sun god Lugh. These people believed that the sun god died on the last day of October, and it was the links between life and death, and the connections of these two worlds of living and dead that they celebrated. In their belief, on this day, ...  Read the complete review