Editor's Blog Oct 31st 2011 - Halloween

 Halloween and the end of term; both a significant point in the annual calendar, more so the end of term, as it means the streets have less cars on them this morning as I cycled to work. I don’t just mean from Gibraltar either, the number of Gib registered cars coming through that border and/or dropping off their children at the frontier is incredible. But the reduction in traffic volume far outweighs my concern on the frontier queues.

 It’s a bit like that panel show the other night ‘In Town without My Car’. It morphed into a political debate when really it should have been about less pollution, more walking to be fit and getting our children out of the seats to arrive at school having enjoyed the journey. I learnt more about my town by walking to school than any car journey could have given me. Taking different routes through streets that I never went down because I was in a rush; mind in my town every estate had its gangs and it could get a bit dodgy trying to get to school without being chased for having the wrong uniform on. Doesn’t happen in Gib, since you all go to the same school and the private schools don’t do gangs lol.

 So it’s trick-or-treat time tonight, no doubt the 1000’s of kids that now go on organised door knocking won’t care that these days they hold houses to ransom for treats; in my day you just got the odd piece of candy. The parents get a big kick out of it too, and I reckon some of them gather the sweets just so they don’t need to buy any for the rest of the year. My favourite was a guy I knew who, come the night, answered the door and gave each trick or treat a gobstoppers sized chocolate sweet. The child’s face would light up, no small piece of boiled candy this was a full-on, dipped in chocolate monster. Alas, it was truly a monster as they were home-made treats, in fact tricks as each ball was a beautifully dipped brussel sprout.

Ed.