Happy Halloween everyone!

I am sure that a lot of people will have seen the reports following the terrible flooding in Spain… although I am thankful we returned when we did and missed the worst of the weather, our hearts go out to all those affected so badly… just goes to show that these things can happen in places you can never imagine they would when you are enjoying a sunny, warm holiday… Kev & Jane, we are glad to hear you have not been washed away 🙏

Since we have returned home, that thing they tell you about being retired when you lose track of time? Well, I am definitely experiencing that as neither Pete nor I can remember what we did on Monday (28th October)! 🤣🤣 We have pieced together that it was the day that he had his flu & COVID jabs and so we didn’t do much… so that’ll have to do for Monday! We have been quite busy so far this week though – working through a mountain of washing & ironing as well as fitting in other general day-to-day life chores…

We followed our trip to the mini-mart with a walk around Ogden Water, a local reservoir built in the 1850s and below Ovenden Moor and the wind farm there. It was nice to see so many families out in the Autumn sunshine for a walk, what with the kids being on half-term… there were a lot of children enjoying the mud & puddles (& some very muddy dogs too 🤣)!

Yesterday (30th October), I made the trip over to Liverpool to hook up with my favourite stepdaughter Louise (😆) & granddaughter Niamh for a trip to the theatre… a late birthday present for Lou & an early one for Niamh & me! The show was the new musical “& Juliet” at the Liverpool Empire. The chances are you’ve never heard of this but it’s about what might have happened if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo… the premise of the story is all about women being empowered – so Anne Hathaway (Willy Shakespeare’s wife) persuades him to let her re-write the end of his classic Romeo & Juliet play…! This touring version had a great cast – the girl who played Juliet was very good (Gerardine Sacdalan) – it also starred Dr Ranj (remember him from CBeebies & Strictly?) and Matt Cardle (he won X Factor in 2010!). Although Niamh fell asleep at one point (ha! I gave up going to the Cinema years ago for the same reason! 🤣), she claims to have enjoyed it… I know me & Louise did! The music is based on hits by songwriter / producer Max Martin (no, I had never heard of him before either 😆… but old Max is apparently responsible for hits such as Britney Spear’s …Baby One More Time, Katy Perry’s Roar and chart toppers Since U Been Gone, It’s My Life, I Want It That Way, and Can’t Stop the Feeling!) – so there was an opportunity for the audience to get up for a boogie at the end – great fun!

The show was quite funny in places and, though I am not sure I would see it again, it was a lovely, fun way to spend the afternoon 🥰. It also meant that we got to have dinner in Liverpool city centre after… As a non-townie, I couldn’t believe how busy the city was (& the theatre for that matter, which was also rammed!)… one restaurant had a waiting time of an hour so we ended up in Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen & Bar where we enjoyed a nice curry (Indian for Lou & Thai for me). Thank you Louise & Niamh for a lovely day out without the menfolk – I really enjoyed it! We should make it a regular thing – perhaps only once a year though to give me time to save up – hahaha 😆😆!

With today being Halloween, I can confirm we are pumpkin ready with plenty of chocolate treats if anyone comes trick or treating later… if they don’t, we’ve bought good old Cadbury’s so the treats will not go to waste! Pete has made pumpkin and chilli soup with the pumpkin innards so that will be something nice to come back to after a walk up in the Dales…

According to t’internet, although carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and wearing scary costumes are some of the time-honoured traditions of Halloween, its roots are actually from the ancient Celtic festival Samhain (pronounced “SAH-win”). Samhain is a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer and the beginning of the Celtic New Year, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor saints. Soon after, All Saints Day (on 1st November) came to incorporate some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before All Saints Day was known as “All Hallows Eve” and later, Halloween.

The tradition of carving Jack-o’-lanterns originated in Ireland using turnips instead of pumpkins. It is allegedly based on a legend about a man named Stingy Jack who repeatedly trapped the Devil and only let him go on the condition that Jack would never go to Hell. But when Jack died, he learned that Heaven did not want his soul either, so he was forced to wander the Earth as a ghost for eternity. The Devil gave Jack a burning lump of coal in a carved-out turnip to light his way. Locals eventually began carving scary faces into their own turnips to frighten away evil spirits. More info can be found here if you are interested: https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-halloween-traditions/

We are off to Grimwith reservoir in the Dales today… one of my favourite walks and, as the weather also looks a bit grim, an apt place to go! It’s a tough life this retirement, having to make such decisions day-in, day-out… 😆 Happy Halloween all xx

PS – some people asked how they can access older posts… I think I have added this to the “Blog Posts” page – so if you click on that on the front page of the blog (should be on the menu top right of the page) & then scroll to the bottom of the blogs listed, you should see the drop down menu for previous months… happy reading 😁 Hope it works but let me know if it doesn’t! 😁