APPLE TIME

Halloween is only  three days away and many a household is gearing up for a rare old party! Kids are digging out their most scariest clobber to terrify the neighbours with, while Mums are busy stocking the cupboards for the trick or treaters who may come calling. And if there’s a crowd expected later on, she’ll also be busy in the kitchen preparing some seasonal Halloween treats. Our recipe for Spine Chilling Mummy Sausages may well be one of them. Food plays a big part in the party atmosphere of Halloween. But so do some Halloween games. One favourite  this writer remembers the kids absolutely loving was the Mummy game. (Goes with the sausages!) This involved several blindfolded kids standing in a line, armed with a toilet roll each, and the object of the excercise was to see how fast they could wrap themselves up like an Egyptian mummy. First one to be completely covered (more or less!) wins. Not sure how politically correct this game is environmentally, given the reims of loo roll that are used up, but for belly laugh value its second to none gamewise!  So that’s  one you can add to your games lists this year. Another traditional game is Bobbing for Apples. Involves a receptacle large enough to hold water so fresh apples can float (large washing up bowl, half barrel, and etc). Kids have to try to grab the apples with their mouths. No hands please!  This obviously needs supervision because water is involved, especally if smallies are participating. But it’s an old fashioned game from way back when, based on the seasonal fruit of Halloween. Two of our apple juice producers also sell their homegrown fresh apples at their farm shops. The Apple Farm in Cahir, Tipperary, and Ballycross Apple Farm in Wexford, have new season apples now available. Stock up on your Irish apples this weekend for a traditional game of Apple bobbing.  Bringing back the simple things we all enjoyed before smartphones and the webternet took over the world!