My anaemic pumpkin will scare the children away | Cheryl Gibbs

I’ve always been a big fan of America. Matt and I have been all over the world and it’s one of our favourite place.There’s just something about it that is magical.Although neither of us have been there for quite a few years now, it will always hold a very special place in our hearts.
The Pumpkin Princess at Rogate Pumpkin PatchThe Pumpkin Princess at Rogate Pumpkin Patch
The Pumpkin Princess at Rogate Pumpkin Patch

Everything is so over the top and you either love it or you hate it.

I love how some of the American ways are rubbing off on us Brits – like Halloween, for example.

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This week I went with my big sister Jo and her children to Rogate to do some pumpkin picking.

If I’m honest I genuinely expected a field full of pumpkins and that you would have to pick one and then go home – a bit like you do with Christmas trees.

Well, it was like walking on to a movie set.

It was very American, with spiderwebs for the children to try and crawl through, and a rodeo pumpkin – instead of a bull – that Hollie, Lewie and their friend Amelie tried.

There were marquee tents with pumpkin crafting and face painting, a mini funfair and food trucks.

It was awesome.

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I remember back in my day Halloween was hardly celebrated at all.

Oh dear lordy, I’ve used that term already and I’m not even 37 yet. It's the big day next week though.

I mean, yes, we did trick or treating while wearing scary costumes –that’s if you can call the bin liner my mum used to put over me as a witch’s cloak ‘dressing up’ – but it was never the big affair it is now.

Even I’ve bought a Halloween pumpkin this year.

Unfortunately all the orange ones had gone, so I was left with a white anaemic looking one which the supermarket cleverly marketed as being a ‘ghost pumpkin’ – hilarious!

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At the moment it has pumpkin and skull fairy lights draped around it.

But I’m being forced by my big sister Jo to carve it out into a scary face.

So, if you’re trick or treating in Clanfield this weekend, do pop by.

You can’t miss our bungalow – it will be the only one with a white sickly-looking pumpkin out the front.

Will the money pit that is my garden ever be completed?

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Getting our garden finished is a problem that will no doubt scar me forever.

This week I’ve had the pleasure of buying varnish for the fencing because the panels are starting to fade.

They’ve only been up a few months, but our garden’s a sun trap and our nice wooden fencing is starting to turn grey.

However, varnishing it has been more costly than anticipated.

Each tin of 2.5 litres is £62 and we need about seven tins.

You do the maths.

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That’s a lot of money to protect it from the elements. Perhaps the greying anaemic look of our pumpkin is the in thing this year.

It will have to do, we can’t afford that!

Fireworks night is a time for families to get together

There’s been a lot of debate lately about the use of fireworks around this time of year, with Sainsbury’s actually banning the sale of them altogether.

I get that animals get scared but there’s also a part of me that wonders whether stopping fireworks displays altogether – which some people have called for – will mean we lose another tradition.

November 5 might just end up like any other day, and what a shame that would be.

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I guess the middle ground would be for less noisy fireworks.

Fireworks night is a great opportunity for the family to get together and I love seeing the looks on children’s faces when the colours explode in the sky.

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