The pumpkin carving was a family affair: one hollowed, one designed, and another carved. As day turned to dusk, they were put in places of honour (one in the window, and one by the road); and as dusk turned to darkness, they were lit. It was great fun to listen out for the childish chatter coming down the lane, and hear it suddenly turn to delighted shrieks of "pumpkin! pumpkin!" as they saw our jack o' lanterns.
Later, we sat eating buttered popcorn and home-made apple juice (from our very own apples), and watched the episode of Dad's Army in which those brave lads find themselves stranded in a dark, abandoned house, with the cries of ghostly hounds filling the air. Spoooky!
