Cultured Views

It’s almost Halloween so what are YOU doing this weekend…? this halloween stuff is still very new to me because in Australia we don’t really do halloween. I guess these days the kids there do get out in their scary little outfits and go from door to door in bigger numbers than I ever remember but you can thank the wonders of multiculturalism for that. We just never did it when I was a kid and it is relatively new for Australians.

I doubt though it will be as big there as it is here in Europe and the UK – not to mention the USA. This time of year Aussies are gearing up for summer and the beach, as well as Xmas, and you also have the warm balmy nights so getting dressed up in fancy outfits and going trick or treating around the neighbourhood clashes with sitting on the beach and having a surf after school and work.

But I am finding myself getting into the spirit of the occasion; here in Northern Ireland halloween is HUGE and tomorrow we are taking the kids into Belfast for a day of activities until we head off down to the waterfront for the fireworks in the evening. The kids outfits (which were a job to buy as the shop’s barcode scanner was not working) are a surprise for them until tomorrow but I can say I will be escorting two very scary little skeleton ghouls around the town.

James took delivery of his new glasses today and is getting used to wearing them – so I hope he does not question whether spooks have to wear glasses…I’m sure they do if their Mums say they have to. I have stocked up on sweeties for the local little vampires, ghosts and werewolves – one has to be careful these days and I have made sure that I only have sweets which are nut-free, soft and nothing too hard to choke on. Halloween must be one of the few events that the ‘health and safety’ brigade have not spoiled to date…let’s hope it stays that way!

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