All Hallows' Eve

I've had a rant about Halloween previously, so I'll not repeat it here; but in the spirit of spirits past I'm submitting, along with lots of other people on Blipfoto, a ghostly (or do I mean ghastly?) photo.

The past spirit is that of my late father and Halloween does bring back a particular memory. Some years ago, when Emma was a little girl, my father and step-mother were staying with us on a visit over this period. Now my dad had always enjoyed his pint so we went to The Three Horseshoes Inn Wixford for a drink and meal.

On arrival we were greeted by lots of pumpkins of varying sizes on the bar. Apparently the pub was intending on setting all these pumpkins out along their low boundary wall, complete with candles. All they needed was carving out. So my dad, being the person he was, asked for a knife and set too. He always was a practical sort and could turn his hand to most things, and obviously, to my amazement, pumpkin carving. We were all very impressed with the faces he produced, they looked great lined up on the wall when we left candle light eerily shining from their eyes and mouths.

The only other thing I remember about Halloween, from when I was a young boy (many, many years ago) was that my mother always told me that I should leave the broom out by the back door overnight!