Why Do You Do Halloween??

Halloween is a tradition celebrated on October 31st in most countries worldwide. It has become very commercialised and all month shops everywhere stock-up with the most hideous costumes and gory toys or whatever to go with said costumes. You can get adult down to child and baby dress up stuff, all the bakeries make cakes with Halloween related decorations on them  the tv is showing every possible horror and or scary movie that has ever been made, and of course the biggest thing is Pumpkins, they get carved into spooky faces. In some place this becomes a serious competition in some areas and the pumpkin work is actually quite intricate.

One of the most controversial element is the 'trick or treating', the idea is you go knocking on doors and ask for a 'treat' if nothing is given then a 'trick' is played.

 Unfortunately modern greed and anti-social behaviour has taken this to a very negative level in some countries,with Police being on alert throughout this particular evening. From experience I know that some people are scared terribly on Halloween night, and do not welcome this evening.

Halloween was or is also know as All Hallows Evening, a Christian feast, a time of remembering the dead, including saints martyrs and all the faithful departed, and also to remember ancestors and closely departed family members would be the more modern take.

There is the festival of Samhain which marked the end of the harvest season, and the onset of winter, it was seen as a time when the spirits could come in to our world, it was respected and feared by people, who ensured blessings to keep safe; they offered food, drink or portions of their crops for the souls if they visited their home. The belief that the souls of the dead return home on one night or day of the year seems to have ancient origins in many cultures throughout the world.

 It has been said that 'Proof of our society's decline is that Halloween has become a broad day event for many', the money that is spent on dressing up  children from a small age who have no idea why, and all of a sudden it is ok to eat as many sweets as you can with out any thought of why.

So if you are celebrating Halloween at least know why you are doing it, whose soul are you remembering? Or are celebrating the onset of the winter months?  Are you thanking the spirits for the food you have? Enjoy all the traditions, have fun dressing up as witches and ghosts, but remember some where some one may be watching you!!!!!!!

These are a few of my Favourite things - Part 1..Music

It was mentioned that my previous blogs were rants, ( not all of them actually) which is a bit harsh as they are not meant to be, so I am going to be indulgent and revisit things I like.

 My first favourite is music, I love singing into my hair brush playing air guitar and jumping off the couch rock star style.

In the days of my teens the music charts were a big deal and there was only one official chart which was played on a Sunday night with the no1 being chosen the Tuesday before so it was great excitement to hear what was going to be played.

One of my all time favourites from my teens is :

Mr David Essex, My first album I bought was a greatest hits, I also use to buy the 7 inch singles of every song of his that came into the charts and went on to buy a lot of his albums right up in to adulthood. I first went to see him in concert when I was 17 with a work friend: OMG it was soooo exciting. I was also lucky enough to see him do a gig in Durban, my most recent was in October 2012   He is still so divine looking and still sings fabulously. I will forever be a fan and feel like my teenage self every time no matter how old I get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ2OkLQL3ZE

Also in my days of pop music I loved the Osmonds swooning over Donny, I even joined their fan club and got badges and mini posters and news of all of them, it was just so enthralling getting all of this. I never got to see them in concert as a teen but they did a concert with David Essex in 2003 and also in the tour were David Cassidy and One of the Original Bay City Rollers.I wasn't fazed about them and it was obvious that DE and The Osmonds were the ultimate favourites. It was fantastic and the Osmonds absolutely rocked the place. It was awesome to see them and relive some teenage time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2WJt6Cpwus

There were plenty of 1 hit wonders or maybe 2 hit wonders and some of them were really catchy or just dam good tunes (to me) one of these which I still love hearing to day and its not a genre of music I follow is Play That Funky Music White Boy by Wild Cherry. I have no idea if they ever did anything else but this tune just stuck with me and when I hear it just make me want to get down and boogie 70's style and I make no apology either!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe1ScoePqVA

As I progressed through my teens I explored more music other than what was in the charts, now as I am half a century on this earth, there was no internet or smart phones not even google existed, we had to get our info from books, newspapers, but best of all for music was the radio, there were some cool stations to listen to.

I started flirting with Punk as I got older as I loved the anarchist view they showed just because they could! But before serious punk took over the charts for a bit there was a pop/punk song which you just had to pogo too

.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PITnJAnmjqw

Another one hit wonder which I couldn't help enjoying it was a band called 5000 volts and this was the song I couldn't forget.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_s6DfAl1l4

There were many other bands like Blondie, my all time favourite from them is a song called Denis Denis, but most of their songs were really good throughout the 70's. There was the Boomtown Rats, Adam and the Ants,The Clash, The Runaways, Sex Pistols. 

Also we had Glam Rock  which was such fun T-Rex Slade, Gary Glitter, Alvin Stardust, Wizzard, Suzi Quatro, Hot Chocolate to name but a few.

Once I was in my late teens the genre of music which I drifted in to was rock and it started off with a fairly commercial rock band called Status Quo, I have been mocked mercilessly for being a loyal fan of this band but their earlier stuff was pretty cool especially some of the songs that have not been radio play. I have so many favourites with these guys, one particular song from their Rocking All Over The World Album-1977 is a song called 'Who Am I', alas I can't even find it on You Tube to post the link, but, it is most definitely one of their better songs. One of my all time guitar intro riffs is from What Ever You Want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drxcNiEyAyU

I did get in to much more heavier rock metal music and did the whole biker rock chic thing Rock was the genre I preferred and still do, they're are some awesome bands past and present. But that can be for another blogg!!!

Dogs and their Owners.....

Most people like most animals in the world but narrow it down when it comes to pets.
The animal of choice comes and lives with you in your house, it then has to be taught some manners on how to behave and integrate with all the other humans that stay in the house as well.
Generally this is not a problem your make a space for said animal in your home often buying it beds and toys which are manufactured more to please the human, but a pet animal is an emotional bond as strong as one we make with a child if not stronger in some cases, so using our emotional tie, the human of said pet animal will buy allsorts despite how unnecessary and ensure its every comfort. Of course I am talking mostly about cats and dogs.

Cats mostly do their own thing, they treat  humans as their servants, and as long as you feed them well, ensure warmth and comfort, a way to get out of the house to explore the outside world, cuddle them (on their terms of course) they generally are quite content and if you are a cat lover this relationship works very well.

Dogs on the other hand are a different story all together, they need training in all sorts of things, the most obvious is not to do their toilet business in the house. Then there is  eating and manners, not to eat any other food other than their own,or anything offered,and not to snatch it ripping ones hand off in the process, also not to chew the household in general and everything in it including the children and so on.....

I go out walking most days, their are a lot of footpaths around the area where I live that lead into woods or down by a river or lead in to open fields and hills. These footpaths are used by a variety of people, some going to and from work, others like myself just getting out to stay active and a bit of fresh air, cyclists, joggers mums with their babes in pushchairs and of course people with their dogs.

Majority of dog owner are responsible, they will have poop bags in every coat pocket that they own, so when their pet does its business, they will not leave it to rot on the pathway, or for some unfortunate person not to see it if its dark and step on it, or worse still a child to fall on it. Dog poop has serious health risks to humans, it is not their fault there are no public toilets for dogs, anyone that has a dog and just walks away shows irresponsibility and huge lack of respect for their fellow human beings.

A responsible dog owner will also keep their dog on a lead along the public footpath, letting it off only when they have reached their destination for said dog to run, and whilst there keep a constant watchful eye on their dog so it does not bother anyone, and if they happen across another dog they will be able to fully control their dog in what ever manner to ensure it does not display any anti social behaviour.

A responsible dog owner does not assume that every other person likes dogs as much as them and that it is ok for  their dog to jump all over another person, especially a stranger with their dirty paws and slobbery breath or what ever.
A responsible dog owner will understand that to a non dog owning human this can be terrifying, dogs no matter how domesticated still have teeth and claws and depending on their social behaviour can be aggressive, which again is just terrifying to another person who is a stranger to their dog.
To treat this with a wry smile and comment of 'oh he means no harm' is not good enough and again shows lack of respect to your fellow human beings.

As you can probably guess I am not a dog owner, that does not mean I hate dogs because I don't, many of my friends have dogs, but they understand how I feel and will ensure my comfort and safety in their environment until I get use to their non human member of the family.

It is just a pity that some dog owners do not feel the need to do the same in public.

The Vegetarian.....

I was in a restaurant the other evening and on the table was a menu for their Christmas season including Christmas Day. As their is just myself and my partner it is something we have considered for this year,going out for christmas day lunch.
 However for the last 20 ish years I have chosen a vegetarian diet and have enjoyed  full and tasty food. I like cooking alot and have used all sorts of beans and pulses and made some really interesting dishes, there is not a vegetable I do not like although there are a couple that I am not fond of and don't use, but a vegetarian cook book can show you that a vegetarian diet is not boring or bland in any way.
 So why do restaurants only make pasta dishes for non meat eaters, this restaurant that we were in,on their Christmas menu was a pasta dish for vegetarians, and they wanted nearly £40's for it, ok it is part of a 3 course meal but any restaurant that is serving pasta for a christmas lunch should instantly fire the Chef and be ashamed of themselves.
 As a vegetarian I  still want to enjoy a roast dinner as much as the next person, I just don't want the meat, I know you can make a hearty and tasty nut roast or lentil roast in its place, Chick Peas are my absolute favourite pulse and you can make the most delicious dishes from them, as you can with most pulses. Nuts are so tasty and there is such a variety I don't understand any restaurant not wanting to add this on to their menu.
I am not a huge fan of pasta personally but it amazes me that there is this idea that if you are a vegetarian you automatically only eat pasta. It insults me.The other food item that is automatically assumed that as a vegetarian you eat is Goats cheese, I can't stand it the smell of it makes me sick I and I do not like the taste, give me a good mature cheddar any day.
In desperation I started introducing fish in to my diet to give me more variety when I go out to eat and also for other people, as soon as you say your vegetarian to someone you can see the colour drain out of their face thinking oh no what am I going to cook; again i don't understand this as their are so many options in super markets now with veggie alternatives and some of them are really nice. My favourite is Frys vegetarian range, made in South Africa and luckily imported to UK and sold at Holland & Barratt. The worst veggie substitutes for me is the Quorn range I had a serious allergic reaction to it that put me in hospital twice!!
When I first became vegetarian there was not many substitute convenience foods about, I had to know what to cook and how to cook it to ensure a balanced diet. 
One of the nicest veggie dinners out I had was at a restaurant called RJ,s they served a mixed variety of roasted vegetables with a cheese sauce, it was a generous plate of food and very tasty; and the only place I have been to and been spoilt for choice is the www.royaleeatery.com which is on Long Street in Cape Town, this restaurant puts every one to shame as the vegetarian section of their menu is the best I have seen.

So going back to Christmas Day Lunch, I refuse to pay £39.95 for a plate of pasta, and knowing that I can cook myself and my partner a  Fabulous Christmas Lunch we will probably stay at home, but I would happily pay the money for a decent lunch and not have to worry about the washing up.So to the chefs out their please use your skills and start creating  more dishes than just pasta!!!