Today folks it's another Halloween.
Now, when I was a young lad the emphasis was on Bonfire Night and precious little time and attention was paid to Halloween.
I recall that my mum hollowed out some Swedes (the vegetable I would hasten to add) and put a candle in them, but that as as far as it went. Now of course we have been taken over by the US inspired commercial spend fest, that requires adults and children to spend gazillions on costumes, sweets and assorted shite.
Anyhoo, be that as it may, it is a free country...allegedly..and people should be able to do what they like, and dress up in any manner that they see fit.
Unfortunately this is Nanny Britain. At the first sign that people will be doing things that are not guided or inspired by the state, Nanny reacts in her usual "calm" "restrained" manner.
It should come as no surprise to learn that police forces up and down the country are on red alert today, as they prepare for a night that they are truly scared of. Nanny's police are issuing posters that people can put up on their doors basically telling trick and treaters to F Off!
That's all very well, but does it not occur to Nanny that this kind of thing actually encourages the more odious behaviour that she claims that she wishes to stop?
In Lancashire, for example, four control rooms have been set up by the police to monitor CCTV footage on 31 October. The Lancashire police will issue on-the-spot fines of £80 to anyone under the age of 18 found in possession of a firework, or other potentially dangerous items (eg eggs).
The UK Evangelical Alliance can't resist putting its nose into the pumpkin patch either, and has issued a warning:
"While Halloween [appears] to bring people together in fun,
in reality it is a celebration of the dead and of evil".
Ooohhh!!!
Why is Nanny so hysterical over this?
I agree, that having trick and treaters knocking at the door is a pain in the derriere..but does it require a full scale national police alert?
Nanny hates individuality, she will not be content until everything that we do is under her full control; whereby we will need formal state authorisation before we can do it.
Happy Halloween!
Contrary to what the Christian fundamentalists would have you believe, Halloween has nothing whatsoever to do with evil, Devil worship or whatever.
ReplyDeleteIt is the feast of Samhein, the Pagan New Year and in better times was a time of reflection after bringing in the harvest. Best celebrated in a comfy chair in front of the fire with a mug of hot mulled wine.
Happy and prosperous Samhein, everybody!
Pete
Sheesh! When I am not in the mood for trick or treaters, I turn off all the lights in the house, and am not bothered a bit. I dont need the state to make me a sign to deal with little kids just looking for a sweet.
ReplyDelete"In Lancashire, for example, four control rooms have been set up by the police to monitor CCTV footage on 31 October. The Lancashire police will issue on-the-spot fines of £80 to anyone under the age of 18 found in possession of a firework, or other potentially dangerous items (eg eggs)."
ReplyDeleteNever miss an opportunity to exploit a nice little earner....Kerching!!
Now of course we have been taken over by the US inspired commercial spend fest...
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't always thus. When I was a kid (back in the days when the Beatles were first invading America's shores) there was very little commercial tint to Halloween and most of us spent the week before the big event making our own costumes rather than buying them. These were also the days before paranoia was institutionalized and codified into law, so it was common for people to pass out homemade treats to their little doorknocking guests (I still remember the candied apples my best friend's mom used to make every year). Do that nowadays and you'll get a visit from Officer "Friendly" who will interrogate you like you're some sort of pervert before slapping you with some sort of creative fine.
We even knew how to make creative mischief without destroying property and, in fact, "Mischief Night" (October 30th on the pre-Nanny calendar) saw many of us armed with bars of soap to draw creative decorations on car windows or sidewalks. If we were feeling especially adventurous, we'd waste a roll or two of our parents' toilet paper on some annoying neighbor's tree. Nothing like the current "Hell Night" in such wastelands as Detroit, where whole derelict streets are set ablaze while Nanny's armed minions sit back passively, claiming to be powerless to stop the mayhem.
Today is my Birthday.
ReplyDeleteI shall be lying in wait for countless little bastards knocking on my door.
No Treats.
Just me, and i know some pretty bad tricks.
Have a calm evening all.
I'm so glad I found this site. I thought I was alone in thinking we are heading towards becoming East Germany in the days before the wall came down. I can't believe some of the shite that happens in this country now. The police, who used to be tall and decent and wore proper uniforms are now scruffy, shaven-headed thugs who imitate characters off 'The Bill', act 'ard, know bugger all about the law and don't wear proper headgear. It is typical that in Lancashire they would chase after kids with fireworks whilst Mr T Ali Ban scurries off to the mosque with his semtex.
ReplyDeleteWell, Oliver Cromwell & Co. banned dancing round maypoles [phallic symbols, of course].
ReplyDeleteLe plus c'est la meme chose....
In Rugby, where I live, Nanny, in the guise of our local Co-op store, has banned the sale of eggs and flour in the run up to Halloween, to anyone under eighteen, unless accompanied by an adult.
ReplyDelete"(Halloween) is the feast of Samhein, the Pagan New Year and in better times was a time of reflection after bringing in the harvest. Best celebrated in a comfy chair in front of the fire with a mug of hot mulled wine.
ReplyDeleteHappy and prosperous Samhein, everybody!"
Pete
To you as well, Pete!
We had a nice Hallowe'en yesterday. We had to run to the student shop a few times to replenish our bowl of sweets but we had about fifteen-eighteen groups of chiddlers come to our door - including a pair of two-year-olds SQUEEEEEE!!!! Then the older chiddlers came (AKA students) and once I said we still had some sweets left I was suddenly their best friend!!
ReplyDelete