Halloween

Today I'm off to Barcelona and then on to Paris. It's mid-term and I'm looking forward to a selfish trip away for me. I need to get away. Being back at work, busy weekends, the steady pressure of trying to keep together - it's a lot to deal with. I need to turn off. 

There are loads of occasions that are upsetting - I wrote about July and the weddings - but one that might not be obvious is Halloween. Liane loved this holiday. She loved scrambling a costume together from four different half outfits to become something mad-looking but unique. An evil clown or a bizarre pirate, never getting the outfit perfect but applying so much imagination and effort that it was aesthetically fascinating and well, endearing. She loved scary films of the corny dated variety. She loved young kids coming round to the door in Glasthule and asking them for a Trick before their Treat, her gentle demeanour warming up the nervy children. 

Last year one of Liane's best friends asked us to babysit her little girl for the night. We brought her house to house, met new neighbours, acted like parents, got mistaken for parents, got treats, made up tricks and generally had a pretty perfect night. I don't remember having that much craic, just simple honest and heart-warming craic, in years. We'd dressed up our house, left out sweets and met tonnes of cute kids.

It felt like what we'd be doing every October for the years ahead, her hand and my hand carefully holding those of our dressed up and wild little child...