Pumpkin hack

[jukel123 6,952]

I don't remember Halloween at all in the fifties.

Bonfire night was big, but my mam wasn't keen. She was Irish catholic,9 kids lol, so to commemorate  the death of a freedom fighter, Guy Fawkes,  in her view wasn't right. She still made treacle toffee though and bought fireworks for us.

Serious catholics where I live don't celebrate  bonfire night. Serious God freaks in Scotland won't celebrate Halloween. They think it is devil worship. Wankers both.

Edited October 26, 2023 by jukel123

[Arry 19,184]

On 26/10/2023 at 20:46, THE STIFFMEISTER said:

More aimed at the much older gents among us , but I was recently lead to believe that actual trick or treating is t as old as we think it is ? 
 

 

I’ve quoted you both as I think your the two elder statesmen on the thread , but did you actually go door to door knocking as a kid ? 
 

the reason I ask is that I know a very old gentleman who claims to have been one of the first in the uk to do that and says it stemmed from that across the country ? 
 

and his argument rings true when he says how 

No mate halloween didn't really exist imo it was all about Guy Fawkes night and the leading up to it. The elders on the housing estate  would send out gangs of younger kids collecting fire wood for big bonfire  branches old furniture etc. No pallets back then but any other crap would do mostly branches cut out of the hedge rows. The big boys lol, would cut a young straight tree usually an Elm as a centre pole dig it in and the bonefire would get built around that. But it was a community effort and we would raid a neighbouring bonfire or burn it down or they would do the same to ours. Different days lol but halloween no don't really remember it at all hollowed out mangals were for Guy Fawakes night. Biggest thing I remember were Banger raids for weeks we would save our money and buy as many bangers as we could. We would put them in our school satchels as go on a banger raid to the posh streets lol. We would run through their gardens throwing lighted banger around and leg it or over their walls. We thought we were so brave lol. The bone fire night was a lovely evening of many families from the estate standing around as the bonfire went up, many fond memories. Every body new each other far more of a community different times.

Cheers Arry

Edited October 28, 2023 by Arry

[jukel123 6,952]

Yep. A highlight of the year. Mayhem. Anything that was flammable was fair game. I remember my long suffering mam rushing white _faced to A and E with one of my brothers. He had all his bangers in one pocket and a spark had set them all off. He still has the burn scars. Lol

[jukel123 6,952]

2 hours ago, mackem said:

Penny for the guy was the earner for us urchins,plot up outside the workmen’s club like a Romanian beggar sits beside a cash machine nowadays.

My Mrs remembers she and her kid sister would stand outside boozers and ask punters entering pubs if their dad was inside because their mam needed money for milk for the baby. She reckons it was a great earner. I married beneath myself.

[mackem 24,312]

8 minutes ago, jukel123 said:

My Mrs remembers she and her kid sister would stand outside boozers and ask punters entering pubs if their dad was inside because their mam needed money for milk for the baby. She reckons it was a great earner. I married beneath myself.

I think you punched above your weight,she sounds super smart,a proper earner.

[jukel123 6,952]

6 minutes ago, mackem said:

I think you punched above your weight,she sounds super smart,a proper earner.

You're right. In 51 years of married life we have only had 3 rows. All my fault in retrospect. The only domestic violence incident was when she threw a stone at me in exasperation when I was being  a dick. It missed.lol

[dytkos 17,611]

Bonfire night was brilliant, when parents weren't worried about kids being out in the dark.

Banger guns (old pipe bent over at the end, Little Demon in then a marble or a stone), raiding (going to other bommys and nicking their wood) and grown ups making treacle toffee and doing spuds in tin foil on the bonfire.

Happy days.  Worse thing was having to have a bath every night instead of just Friday cos we were filthy and stinking of smoke  

Cheers, D 

[Daniel cain 43,496]

Only the kids on the posh estates had pumpkins around our way...we had swedes...was cheaper to buy 2 dozen eggs,go and terrorise them by egging their windows)cars for a chase..cant remember seeing a pumpkin until early 90's... obviously an American influence

[mackem 24,312]

We had stolen turnips from a farmers field or potatoes hollowed out,better than nowt,but if we had a turnip we used to eat the raw inside and the soot blackened lid from the candle smoke and convince ourselves it tasted great,gave us the shits.

 

[mackem 24,312]

Just seen on the news Americans are expected to spend $12 billion on Halloween this year candy,decor and costumes twelve BILLION!

[TOMO 25,227]

No never bothered with Halloween here in Notts growing up ....as the others have said bonfire night was the big one all us kids collecting wood for the village bonfire....the other thing we had was mischievous night on the 4th of November....were all us kids would go out and do pranks on people's houses...

[EDDIE B 3,145]

[EDDIE B 3,145]

[paulus 26]

We only did the penny for the Guy thing, Usually one one of us dressed up and being pushed around in a wheelbarrow Lol, We always built a big bonfire on the estate but we would also set fire to the posh estates bonfire down the road. Fireworks night was always a war between 2 gangs both firing air bombs and rockets at each other, close quarters it was three, two, onw zeros, How the hell any of us didn't get killed i will never know. Lol

[comanche 2,801]

On 26/10/2023 at 17:06, chartpolski said:

Never heard of pumpkin when I was a kid, it was always a turnip lantern.

Cheers.

Yes.  Mum used to hollow out a swede . I carried on the tradition and always cringed when my little daughter wanted to have a go at making one of her own. The compromise was that l did the hollowing-out and she cut the features. Luckily she still has all her digits.

Never even saw pumpkins in the shops round here. 

Folk moan about the  the trick or treat thing but there seems to be an unspoken rule , in my area at least  , that the T&Ters only bother houses with lanterns and decorations on display. And most of the children round here are chaparoned by parents . 

Bonfire night was the big thing in my childhood.  We never made much from Penny for the Guy but l suppose a pair of someone's Mum's old tights stuffed with newspaper and a paper bag for a head wasn't  very impressive

Throwing bangers or setting them off in bottles and cow pats seemed so normal. As did  taking the binding off  Catherine wheels before lighting and releasing them amongst your mates.

Some bugger stuck a lighted sparkler down my welly boot once. It melted into the rubber and l couldn't  pull it out. I still have a scar!

I suppose the emphasis on Halloween and trick or treating is a bit safer for children ,unless they call on Gary Glitter.

 

Edited October 27, 2023 by comanche