Pumpkin Attempt 2014

I like to try and carve a pumpkin every year for Halloween so trick or treaters know they can come to my house for sweets. 

I usually go for a face but I thought this year I'd up the stakes and so I googled a template. 

Drew it on in gel pen and then set about gutting out the pumpkin. 

Barclay the cat wasn't loving the smell.

Then I set to work carving with a smaller knife. You know I should really get one of those kits with the special tools in... never mind,

Cat pumpkin is now in pride of place with a candle in to welcome children to my house (sounds sinister doesn't it!?). 

Also, on another note, I got carried away with the Christmas things in Marks and Spencer and so I bought a pack of dried mulled wine berries and cinnamon and stuff. Only I don't like red wine so I've put it in apple juice to make hot spiced apple. Yum! Hurrah for Autumn!

Scaresville 2014

It's Halloween soon... and for my annual Halloween activity some nursing friends and I went to Scaresville, driven by the very capable Jo. You might remember I went last year with my lovely chum Kiran and her work mates. 

The unfair ground was smaller than last year but we all got dinner there (mm hot dogs), measured our heights (haha, Nancy's a hobbit) and waited for our ticket numbers to be called. 

And then we entered the queue to go to the stables, where there was a video before entering... the scare zone (it was really called that!). 

The horror trail took us an hour and a half to get through, winding through out buildings, a hedge maze, woodland, farm fields, over bridges and into tents - all in darkness! I laughed so hard. 

Here's what my camera could see... (nothing basically). The tickets were just over £20 but it was really worth it, it felt like it took a really long time with all sorts of scares from clowns to people with chain saws, masks, hazmat suits... you name it. I did notice there were less scarers than last year but I think the scarers are volunteers so I suppose that can't be helped and it probably varies night to night. 

And then like last year you escaped the scare zone into the bar, sadly it was without the screen so you could watch other people getting scared but luckily it was still serving hot spiced apple so I forgave them. 

Scaresville

I got a text late yesterday from my friend Kiran - do you want to go to Scaresville tonight? I wasn't exactly sure what this was but I said yeah sure and so we took a long car journey down the windy country roads to.... 

Which is held at an old country manor house in the very expansive grounds and out buildings. It was a full moon (I'll apologise now for the crap night time photography - awfully sorry) so there was a fair bit of light outside

As we arrived we got our tickets (pre order, it's busy!) and waited for our group to be called for the Scaresville trail. They had an area to wait in called the Unfairground which was pretty fun, we took a photo with a creepy gypsy fortune teller

And then walked through, there were lots of food stands and fairground food like candy apples and popcorn etc

Along with spooky props and halloween music

They had a fire juggler and a ring master in a michael jackson-esque mirrored jacket and lime green bowler hat who called out the next groups to go through to the trail

And then you walked over to the stables part of the grounds and lined up in groups of 8, you had to stand single file with one arm on the person in front of you's shoulder, one arm to feel the wall and ceiling, it's pitch black in a lot of the trail which is a maze through the dark lasting for about an hour through buildings, forest, grass, hay bales - all sorts. It was great, I think I was pretty brave (I even went through the creepy clown tent first - get me!). But Max, Kiran's much beloved boyfriend, bravely led us most of the trail though (although he had several incidents where he walked headlong into walls but this did not faze him). 

The trail is full of scarers dressed up, sometimes you can see them, sometimes you can't. The can't touch you and you can't touch them but they made us jump a lot! Scaresville sold pants this year because last year they had a few people wet themselves (and more besides that!). There were all sorts of scary things, including someone with a real chainsaw but I won't give all the secrets away. Well worth a visit though. At the end of the scary trail (in which we were very much terrorised!) you come through to a bar which was very decorative and you can watch the other people getting scared on the monitors they use which was pretty funny. 

Also they sold really tasty spiced apple (and mulled wine, shots, tea etc) which we needed for our throats after all the screaming and laughing. Beware, if you go with people you don't know that well; you will become very well acquainted after spending an hour clutching them in terror! 

Go and check it out they still have tickets - http://www.scaresville.co.uk/ and theres a funny video on there of one room of the Scaresville trail.

Pumpkin Carving

The boyfriend and I did the traditional pumpkin carve on Monday night. 

We washed the pumpkins (I washed the pumpkins)

Then we I took great care scalping and gutting the pumpkins

I carved it with beauty and love

And then in went the candles, lovely! I'm working Halloween night so I won't get to see any trick or treaters, we bought chocolate but I don't think that many kids live near us. The boyfriend's in charge of the sweets so I expect I'll come back to no trick or treaters but all the chocolate gone!!