Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en is without doubt my favourite annual event! 

I'm not exactly sure why... I guess if I thought long & hard I could come up with a number of different reasons - my love of spiders, fascination with skulls & interest in pretty much anything spooky mcdooky spring to mind straight away - but I suppose the most obvious contributor is my love of fancy dress :-)

You will probably have gleaned already from a previous post that I am no stranger to such antics! I don't need much of an excuse & certainly no encouragement to dress up fancy dress styleee... I'd have a fancy dress party once a month if it were down to me! But it's not, & therein lies the reason why I think I get so excited about Hallowe'en... It's the one time of the year when those who usually shy away from dressing up, thinking those of us that do slightly extrovert & crazy, relent and join in the fun!

On 31st October (& the weekend preceding or following it) it becomes perfectly acceptable to frequent city bars, village pubs & walk the streets wearing odd looking wigs, outrageous makeup, freaky masks, ripped/stained articles of clothing &, most scarily of all, carry weapons! Albeit pretend ones of course... It's even considered acceptable by many to knock the doors of strangers for 'trick or treat'!

Some people go even further, spending hours decorating their houses & hosting their own Hallowe'en parties -  a number of which I've been fortunate enough to attend. Most years I manage to attend two Hallowe'en events - usually one publicly hosted & one privately hosted & of course, I ensure I have a different costume for each event ;-)

This year, Hallowe'en falls a week before Pay Day Friday... Not to be discouraged however, we have decided to have Scary PDF instead - a week later & anything goes costume-wise as long as it's scary! Our local PDF haunt (see what I did there?) Bluu http://bluu.co.uk/ have even arranged to have the bar decked out for us with spooky decorations even though it will be 4th November :-)

Here are some outfits from recent years:

2008 - Bluu

2009 - House Party, Cambs

2009 - Hallowe'en Bonfire

2010 - Apres

2010 - Hallowe'en Bonfire

This year my costume is 'zombie prom queen', nearly all sorted & boy am I excited! Particularly as I can't make the Hallowe'en Bonfire event this year :-( 

I have however, already decided upon my costume for 2012... ;-) A whole year to work on putting it together - woohoo!

Happy Hallowe'en folks!

My very first pumpkin!  I was so very proud :-)

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Holidays

I live for my holidays...  No, I really do!  It's a phrase that's often banded about & I have no doubt that most people do enjoy their break away or, at the very least, their break from work - it is, after all, human nature. Holidays to me however, are much more than a break away from the daily grind... Holidays are up there with running for me (& sometimes I'm lucky enough to combine the two!) & to that end I make the most of every single day of annual leave I have from work. Each holiday to me is another exciting adventure!

So, what kind of holiday is my 'type'? Well, in truth I don't really stick to one type of holiday, in fact they vary tremendously between camping, city breaks, beach holidays, sight seeing holidays, cruises & of course, long weekends catching up with friends who have moved away.

For the most part I am a solo traveller - some would probably think that lonely or boring but for me it just adds to the 'adventure'! I am a great believer that there is no better travel companion than yourself. Seeing the sights & exploring new locations without having to accommodate the plans of others or having a day of sun & solitude on the beach with a good book, a gorgeous view & little interruption for me is a perfect way to spend the day on holiday - couple that with evenings of socialising with friends who live locally, friends who have also travelled to the chosen destination or even people you have only just met (after all strangers are just friends you don't know yet) & I believe you have the perfect holiday mix!

There is the inevitable downside to travelling. Long journey times, unscheduled delays, waiting around for connecting trains/flights & in some cases jetlag can all take their toll & mar an otherwise relaxing/action packed* (delete as appropriate) break... That is, if you let it!

Of course, I'd rather not have any of the downsides but it happens... Yes it's an inconvenience but strangely, it's also often an opportunity! I've met the most interesting people, sampled the strangest foods & made some unique purchases whilst travelling to & from holiday locations - there's no better way to pass the time than to engage in a random conversation or activity that under normal circumstances you probably wouldn't & I often find those experiences teach me something new.

There's a whole world out there to see, so many people to meet, places to visit & yet a relatively short lifetime to fit it all in.  Even if time or funds mean the distance is limited, there will be so many hidden jewels nearby that many of us won't have scratched the surface of yet!

I usually have 2 or 3 breaks planned ahead, albeit loosely, so each time I return home I have something else to look forward to :-)  Not only that, I find working this way means I never get caught in the 'I meant to sort something out but never got around to it' trap which I hear so often.  When I reach retirement age I want to look back on a life of adventure & randomness, not one of missed opportunities & routineness.

On that note, I'd better crack on... I have another case to pack! ;-)

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