For all the years I've had an allotment it has never occurred to me to take our spooky celebrations up there. Every year I do, if I do say so myself, a cool party involving goblin bogies, witch eyes and warlocks tongues. Y'know, the usual.
This year is one of those rare ones where I haven't. The last time I dipped out of organising a party I had five months before just had my fifth baby and it was all Too Much. Yesterday we were invited to other things.
But partied we did, up at the allotment, on Friday thanks to one of the allotmeenteers who had previously instigated a pumpkin growing competition.
I'd like to tell you that ours romped to victory, so heavy was it the scales nearly broke. But I can't lie and it didn't romp anywhere. More like slumped into a soggy mess on my doorstep as I tried to pick it up by the stalk.
Unperturbed, I scooped the mess up into a bag and trotted off up to the site with a couple of surly kids, one incredibly tired one (gotta love sleepovers), a pumpkin fairy (oh yes, they do exist) and a scary, witchy-looking dragon.
It was lovely. My fellow veggie grower had gone to a lot of effort with balloons, a proper carved pumpkin, refreshments, fun and games.
There was even a pumpkin weigh-in, which I'm not going to discuss any more because it's all a bit boring. Y'know, just a big ole orange thing sat on some bathroom scales not doing anything. Yeah, boring. What did my gloopy mess weigh? Well, I don't think the scales could be working because it didn't register. I know, can you believe it?!
The glamorous witch organiser thinks she may have grown the wrong variety because all four families involved had pumpkins that were sludge by Halloween, if they grew at all.
So I have a year to read up on how to grow a whopper and shall, I think, have one in reserve at home. Not because I'm competitive you understand, but it would be lovely to carve my own. Like Rhiannon has done. No, I don't know how she did it either.
If you have any pumpkin growing tips, I'd be delighted if you'd divulge in the comments just for my research purposes. Thank you.