 |
| Fright Night |
Halloween history
Halloween or ‘All Hallows eve’ is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. It probably has it roots in a pagan festival, as all the most fun ones do. It celebrates the end of the harvest season, taking stock of produce and preparation for winter. The timing of Halloween is also links to the Mexican Day of the Dead. This is an incredible annual festival where the whole of Mexico celebrate their loved one who have passed with colourful festivals and decorations largely featuring skeletons!
 |
| The final face |
Halloween has links to the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”). The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.
Carved pumpkins or turnips made into lanterns ‘Jack ‘O’ Lanterns’ were made to scare away evil spirits from the home or just an excuse to scare anyone for passing amusement. Rob Wilson, an avid allotment disciple, joined the Giant Vegetable Growers Club to up his pumpkin game. The club meets on the third Wednesday of every month and is by invite only. Things get very competitive in the giant veg world. The chair of the group warned him ‘Giant vegetables can take over your life.’
 |
| Giant Pumpkin preparation |
The Giant Pumpkin
A giant Russian pumpkin grown with special seeds from Russia – courtesy of Ebay – was successfully grown. Robin then set about making a supersize Halloween lantern out of it. This is a sister pumpkin to his previous third prize winning pumpkin in this year’s giant vegetable category of the local show.
The Russian pumpkin, as large as a hippo’s head, is relatively easy to carve. It is not as tough skinned as the orange ones usually used for this purpose. It’s flesh is bright and sweet and tastes a bit like a Gala melon. A scary face template is selected from a huge selection easily available on the on the internet. Next, some makeshift pumpkin carving tools are rustled up from handy household items.
 |
| Pumpkin construction kit |
A chisel, a fret saw and some assorted kitchen knives are assembled. We also need a flip chart marker to trace the face template onto the surface of the pumpkin. A pointy vegetable peeling knife is best for the carving job. One scary set of eyebrows and mouth full of razor teeth later, and our spooky creation is complete.
 |
| Use a sharp and pointed knife for accuracy |
Pumpkin soup
The inside of the pumpkin is chopped up and makes a delicious pumpkin soup. This has got to be the easiest tasty soup ever. Pumpkin, onions, pepper, stock and a few secret ingredients -which for my soup were roasted curry powder and bacon- are all boiled up together. Next they are whizzed with the blender and hey presto, Russian Pumpkin soup! Finally, top it with a swirl of sour cream and enjoy this delicious Autumn soup. There are many variations on the pumpkin soup recipe this one is another delicious option. Creamy Pumpkin Soup.
What to do with your Halloween lantern
Add your candle to the hollowed out pumpkin for the final spooky touch. Put your Halloween lantern on your doorstep if you want to indicate you are willing to be visited by the Trick or Treaters on Halloween itself. Do bear in mind you have to get up to open the door and give them stuff. Also, Kids won’t take any old rubbish these days. Or you can just enjoy your very own additional fire hazard in the comfort of your own home. Sherbet the cat didn’t know quite what to make of the unearthly visitor…
 |
| Sherbet challenges the intruder.. |
 |
| Begone thou evil spirits |
Click here for my blog about more Halloween fun – this time on a bike!
The most spooky castle in the world – Dracula’s Castle in Romania – Bran castle
Find out how the Day of the Dead is celebrated in Arizona close to the Mexican border