A turnip for the books....

When I was wee, there was no such thing as a pumpkin lantern - we'd get a turnip from the farm, and my dad would almost sever a finger trying to carve a face into it.

Then we'd dress up in a few towels, or my granny's furs and go round to the neighbours to do a 'turn'. (I would only visit people who had a piano, so that I could perform 'The Entertainer', and my friend Jennifer would always give her much lauded rendition of Willie Wastle. We reckoned that by the time Hallowe'en came round again, nobody would remember our 'act' from the year before.)

We'd be delighted to receive a round of applause, some Brazil nuts, a mandarin orange, and if we were very lucky, a 20 pence piece between us.

Where I come from, we called it 'galoshins' or 'galoshans'.....it seems to be a word specific to the lower Clyde area, and had absolutely nothing to do with tricks or treats!!

How times have changed.......


PS Just in case you're worrying wondering, it's WildWed31 this week.