Eeeuww

I never realized until today that a child saying "eeeuww" was adopting an Americanism. Not everyone is happy about the Americanization of Halloween here.

Peanuts are out, it seems, as are apples, walnuts, hazelnuts and any other fruits of the autumn season. We searched their bags again, but could find nothing that had ever been alive. When these youngsters call at the neighbouring doors, they don't say, "any apples or nuts?" as we used to when we were nippers. They prefer the American catchcry of "trick or treat?".

They have also adopted the American custom of lighting their house up like Wembley Stadium and disembowelling pumpkins with murderous energy.

Lighting the house was not a Halloween custom when I was a kid, but I guess it may have become one over the past 20+ years. Clearly, many people here taken to it with gusto.