238: I’m Scared

It was some kind of festival last week - something called hollowine (?)   I don’t know what that means but evidently it involves people playing tricks and games, and building scary models and monsters.  

Some people take it very seriously.. A house near the park (Mansion Lane to be precise) had 5 skeletons dressed as a famous girl singing group - it was labelled ‘Spice Ghouls’.  Hopefully, this means something to you - but unfortunately not to me.   It obviously lies outside my cultural framework.

In our street, displays were either non-existent or a little subdued and sketchy.

This is most definitely not a complaint from me. I find normal life quite a scary experience … I don’t see the need to add contrived fear on top. I get my fears fix from afternoon walks when kids are returning from school.  Local school kids are dressed in black and very loud.   They terrify me.

Sorry, I digress. 

This hollowine festival incorporates a practice where gangs of marauding youngsters  roam the streets and call on unsuspecting house owners  with the ominous question, “Trick or Treat”.   This is a basic form of protection racket whereby if the house owner fails to give the gang a suitable ‘treat’, the gang will inflict some form of lightweight damage on the house or terrorise the house owner in some other way. 

I am not sure why this is legal and even acceptable.  When I am Queen, it will not be so.

In think we should re-address this festival and call it something like ‘Palomine’ whereby one gets together with one’s pals (preferably those you don’t see on a regular basis) and put the world to rights.

Perhaps I should start a Pet- ition!