Something for the weekend-All Hallows Eve

1. The eve of the witching hour,in which the front yard is suitably cobweb and corpse bedecked, sticky candy brims in a bucket head for the trick or treaters, and we are eagerly putting finishing touches to our costumes. Its a Batman themed event, so this year, Lani and I are going as Dark Knight foils-Poison Ivy and the Riddler.

2. Perhaps it was the weather or the fact that we were on the bones of our arse poor, but as a child, my families Halloween celebration extended to just ducking for apples and carving turnips-pumpkins being too much of a rarity or luxury item in 1970's England. Nevertheless, it was my favorite time of year, and my staple diet would have been the Pan book of Horror stories my Uncle Tony passed down to me, the Hammer double bills on a Friday night, and horror comic anthologies like The House of Mystery, House of Secrets and Weird Mystery.



3. As is customary, we held our own little Horror double bill last night, with the remarkable Swedish Vampire movie,Let the Right One in-which I'll review at another time-and the Hammer Horror classic the Vampire Lovers, starring Ingrid Pitt as the resurrected countess Camilla with more than a healthy appetite for buxom, young, virgin flesh. Vampire lesbians...whats not to love?

It also starred the quite lovely doe eyed Madeline Smith, who I was most smitten with in my younger days-I wonder why?

4. If there was a concession to Halloween American style when I was young, it was Charlie Browns great pumpkin patch, which is obligatory, wherever you are-Happy Halloween Everyone!!: