Hallowe'en - Dusk Watch

Hallowe'en fell on my Dusk Watch walk so of course we had to dress up! Thanks to Emma and Lesley for the loan of the costume, Will, only needed to shave his head and wack some make up on :-).

Will made me a broom out of Broom, linked to witches as the tips are hallucinagenic, or they would put bat's blood on the broom being linked to flying, evil creatures of the night. Everyone had to 'earn' their treats answering nature questions, traditionally kids would have to sing, tell jokes or recite poems, no tricks at all! Hallowe'en comes from the celtic festival called Semhain marking the end of summer, the 1st November being their new year. Later, Christians called this day All Hallows day, or All Saints day, thus 31st became known as Hallows eve. This evening also marked the time when the barrier to the spirit world was weak so they wore masks to scare away evil spirits or trick them into thinking they were one of them. Jack-O-Lanterns come from an Irish Miser, too naughty for heaven and hell after playing a trick on the devil. He still walks the earth holding his lantern until judgement day. Traditionally lanterns were carved from scottish turnips (or swede in England), or spuds or beets. Really hard, so when the Irish went to America, they started to use pumpkins.

Any young ladies wanting to find out their future husband? Cut an apple in half the wrong way, so you can see the pentagram symbol, eat it in front of a mirror by candlelight and he should appear in the reflection, oh er. Failing that, sleep with the apple under your pillow and you should dream about him! Also, hazelnuts can be used. Name some nuts after some prospective applicants, place them in a burning fire and chant "If you love me pop and fly, if you hate me burn and die". They can be used to predict the future of newlyweds too, depending on the character of the nuts in the fire, crackling is ideal, bursting indicating a stormy relationship, popping in opposite directions; best go your separate ways!

We didn't see the ghost train on the old track, or any water kelpies but there were a few bats - thus proving that bats aren't evil as we all had rowan berries in our pockets!