October Scenes and All Hallows' Eve

October has been an unusually busy month of appointments and in all honesty a myriad things that I'm struggling to recall.  With the news firmly entrenched in the arena of the extreme, despite emerging from a global pandemic, life still feels only superficially normal.  We're all going through the motions, but know full well that there's a herd of elephants in the room; from economic crises and troubling political forces to a megalomaniac from the East. 

In an effort to punctuate the relentless madness, I'm sharing my October memories in an effort to offer some escapism.

Finally, the wedding industry blog on my Stranger Things shoot has been published.  The exclusivity period dictates that it cannot be shared on another blog for 6 weeks (although social media has been green lit).  I mention this specifically for Lulu (Long Mizzle Garden), as her partner, Joe, kindly granted us permission to use his music in the video (coming soon). 

One thing I can share, courtesy of lovely team member, Helen, of Elegance Hair Design in Telford, is this taste sensation.  Left over from the shoot were some maraschino cherries. Helen, a native New Zealander, suggested wrapping them in streaky bacon and getting them crispy (BBQ is best but a frying pan will do).  Voila!  Devils on horseback with a southern hemisphere twist!  I have tried good vegan bacon and reckon it would work just as well.  

 

For one of our regular walks, we visited the National Trust's Dudmaston Estate last week, shedding layers and basking in temperatures more akin to August.  On our visit, we hung out at the second-hand book shop with the resident cat....another very vocal Tortoiseshell.  She very cutely placed her paw on me every time my attention wavered.

We left with a book on Pompeii (for the boy) and, inexplicably, Game of Thrones.  

I've never been big on fantasy literature and haven't seen the TV series, so I'm chalking it up as a panic buy (one can never have too many books).  Who knows?  Maybe I'll read it and maybe it will surprise me.  Just maybe, I'll be rocking up to a Comic-Con - cloaked and daggered - near you very soon.

The late afternoon sun was delicious, highlighting the woolly outlines of the estate sheep...

...bouncing off the windows...

and bursting through a copse, making for a pretty silhouette photo of Gareth taking a call.  If you squint, you can see the Autumn leaves swirling in the breeze.

If you'd like to see more, here's a short video.

(1) Late October. Late afternoon. Dudmaston Estate. - YouTube

Now, of course, the end of the month marks All Hallows' Eve and try as I might, I just can't ignore it.  I picked up a tired, old tablecloth in a charity shop and decided to give it a makeover.

(1) A Tablecloth for Halloween #halloween #craft #tableclothdesign - YouTube

That's better!  A perfect base for tonight's goblets of bubbling green evil elixir while I'm cackling at the evening's TV entertainment.

Now finally, a warning to all.  If you go down in the woods today, be sure of a big surprise.  We met this character cavorting amongst the trees recently.  

She told me she's the pumpkin bride.  She's looking for a suitable partner...male, female, vegetable.

She will know when it's right, although her life partner is as yet blissfully unaware of their imminent betrothal.

But these are mere details; the date's set for 31st October and there's going to be an almighty shindig.

She told me that she's wearing a white dress which her pumpkin grandmother bought for a patch party in 1969, but unfortunately, her grandmother was pulled, unceremoniously, from the ground, never to be seen again.  The dress has never been worn.  

Pumpkin Bride seemed friendly enough, but when I tried to get a closer shot of her dress or film her, she grew very defensive.

I’m still trying to make sense of what happened…see for yourselves.

(1) Pumpkin Bride #halloween #pumpkin #scarystories #spookyseason #spookyshorts #halloweenbride - YouTube

Happy Halloween!