Friday 31 October 2014

Happy Hallowe'en!

Greetings everyone; I hope you all enjoyed a fun and spooky Hallowe'en last night. We had a quiet stay at home affair. E dressed up in her Dracula costume and, with the aid of a little fake blood and a torch held beneath her chin, scared the MANY, MANY Trick or Treaters coming to the door. Numbers seem to have increased dramatically over the last few years and I was worried about running out of chocolaty goodies to hand out. I think she may have been a little too scary for some of the tiny ones - most enjoyed it (particularly the accompanying adults) but we did have one little boy who ran down the drive to his Mummy in tears and had to be accompanied back to collect his treat from a then friendly, smiling, fully illuminated vampire!

We spent some of the day carving our home grown pumpkin (the only one that the deer didn't manage to eat).

....... and making spider cakes:

Other happies this week include:

My stripy witchy leggings - so jolly and cosy. R thought I had worn them specifically for Hallowe'en but I just wore them because I like them!

 A trip to see this:

It was actually on at the National Theatre in 2011 but they filmed it and showed it at our local cinema on Thursday. I don't know if you remember the play when it was on - Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny  Lee Miller alternated the roles of Frankenstein and Creature on a nightly basis. The version we saw had Cumberbatch as Frankenstein and it was fantastic. Excellent acting from both of them. It was the first time we have been to a 'play' shown at the cinema, rather than the theatre. R said that the only thing he didn't like was the camera angles - he just wanted a camera at the front of the stage as if you were actually in the audience at the theatre, so you could choose what to look at. It was actually done like a film with close up shots and camera angles that wouldn't have been possible if you were actually there. Personally, I didn't mind it and it allowed you to see the actor's expressions close up. We enjoyed it so much that we were tempted to go back in a week's time when they are showing it again but with the roles reversed. It seems like a bit of an extravagance though, even though it is much cheaper than a trip to London to see the play would have been. However, we are planning to go and see  a similar showing of 'The Crucible' in December. E is studying the witch hunts for History AS and it got excellent reviews when it was on at the Old Vic, so it should be good. Also, L will be back from uni for the holidays the day before and we can all go as a family treat to celebrate her return.

My 'new thing' for this week was to try knitting a flower - more specifically a poppy as Remembrance Sunday is coming up.

I knitted it using a pattern from this book here.
I had to change it slightly as I didn't have any black wool to do the French knots in the centre with, so I replaced  them with a button. I shall wear it on my coat for this month, although, as E pointed out, I should still buy a paper poppy too as the money goes to a good cause.

Anyway, that's all for now. Enjoy the weekend and this unseasonably warm weather we seem to be enjoying at the moment.
Toodle Pip. x

4 comments:

  1. Brilliant pumpkin, and I love the leggings. I love the idea of filmed plays being shown, and it sounds like the one you saw was excellent, and just right for a Hallowe'en fright. I've been thinking about making a poppy as well, instead of buying a paper and plastic one, but I'll definitely put some money in the tin.

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  2. Hi, thanks for stopping by my blog! It's so nice to hear from a new reader. I enjoyed this post very much, I always like to see what people do for holidays in other countries. That filmed play sounds great and I think it's really impressive that they would have learned both parts to alternate them each night. Your poppy is very pretty. I'm glad we've connected, I look forward to reading more. :)

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  3. Hi! I've just found your blog via Jennifer's and I just want to say hello. I enjoyed reading about your Halloween-- I thought the scary dracula was a funny idea. My parents-in-law went to see 'Frankenstein' at cinema last Thrusday and they said it was fantastic. I think it's a great idea showing plays in cinemas. We don't have to go down to London to see plays like this.
    Marion

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  4. Hello! I wish I didn't have to miss Hallowe'en; it looks like you had a lovely time. The spider cakes look very yummy as well, even if not particularly scary! We didn't manage to carve a pumpkin in the end; by the 31st, there didn't seem to be a single one left in any of the shops here! I briefly contemplated trying to carve the bulb part of a butternut squash but just abandoned the idea as fruitless. Your poppy's lovely as well. I think it looks better with the button than french knots would have done. xxx

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