I used to have to keep it to myself. Halloween, that is. I was always a big fan. But a little bit embarrassed. It seemed a little, you know… daft, somehow.
Then I started leading tours for London Walks. Including Ghost tours. So then Halloween became a professional matter.
Then I became a dad to a daughter who turned out to be a little bit of a Goth on the quiet. She loved Halloween.
Now there's no stopping me. My daughter is 10 now and her interest in Halloween is beginning to wane a little.
Don't care. It's too late now. The genie is out of the bottle.
Mary and David at London Walks are most indulgent of my Halloween shenanigans on The Daily Constitutional. They let October pass without comment.
Not me. I bloody LOVE Halloween, me.
As a consequence, this diary round-up for October will be pretty Halloween-heavy…
In October I had a lot of fun making promo clips for the Ghosts of the Old City Walk. Here are my two favourites…
Way back in July (see earlier post) I filmed a Halloween short at the Lyceum with the cast of The Lion King. Here's the result…
Scary movies occupied quite a bit of my blogging and podcasting time in October. Funny ones, too. London Walker and friend of The Daily Constitutional Darren Ruston starred in a very funny and provoking documentary spoof about recovering Zombies entitled Already Dead. Here's the trailer…
Horror movies were on my mind for the annual London Walks Podcast Halloween Special…
The day before Halloween I went for a prowl around London's most dramatic cemetery, Abney Park in Stoke Newington…
Catch-up with the full photoblog HERE.
And my award for most horrid Halloween window display went to BBC3 Hair Studio in Highgate…
Gruesome horrors of a different kind were on display in October with the political party conference season here in the UK. Showbusiness for ugly people. Famously, the Prime Minister was barely able to speak because of a bad coughing fit during her big speech. One of her front bench colleagues handed her a cough sweet. I wonder if Brutus had a packet of menthol lozenges in his non-dagger hand when he helped to coax Caesar out of politics…
Unlike Treeeeza May I've 'ad me Covonia and I'm ready to lead a strong & stable @londonwalks Rock'n'Roll Pub Walk with LIVE Music! 🎸👞🎶🍺🎸👞🎶🍺 pic.twitter.com/mhDQbvGMxU — Adam Scott (@AdamScottG) October 4, 2017
Also in October, we had some pretty dramatic skies here in London. Did you catch the red sun? A side effect of Hurricane Ophelia, with tropical air dragging in dust from the Sahara (according to the BBC) created this red sun over Jermyn Street around 5pm on the 16th October, just after my Village In Piccadilly walk…
Earlier in the walk, the sky above Jermyn Street turned an orange-tinted sepia…
…with the light inside Wren's St James's Church throwing some eerie shadows…
As dusk approached, some more strange effects were created as I headed eastward to lead a tour at Tower Hill. With the sun getting "under" the clouds before dipping below the buildings, the Thames took light as the eastern sky looked angry with a rain that didn't arrive…
… before going out in a blaze of glory…
A London Walk costs £10 – £8 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
