Remember, Remember...

Its an over excitable time of year for young people (she says trying hard not to sound like those old pink-rinsed grannies). It gets dark early, there's the build up to the 5th and between the time when fireworks go on sale and actually having a real cause to set them off is Halloween.

So for a while now we've had yoofs hanging around, often with bikes for a quick get away, letting off fireworks along the ground for a horizontal display aimed at scaring bystanders. Wood Green High Road is not the place to be if you scare easily. Neither was the Tate Modern when I was there on Thursday. I'm trying not to laugh at the yoofs (their over-sized baggy tracksuits hanging off the arse end on bmx's that are too small, knees all sticking out at odd angles) while they are armed with explosives.

The joy of Halloween is the little children dressed up as ghouls and ghosties trick or treating with their parents. Sadly now gatecrashed by marauding teenagers barely in costumes threatenly approaching pedestrians and demanding treats (preferring money). Not like the Halloween I was in Madison, Wisconsin, where trick or treating was strickly 5-7pm and only at houses with pumpkin lanterns. We dressed the clapboard house's porch in cobwebs and illuminous skeletons, played spooky music and I answered the door (long black skirt, red and black hair - I wasn't in costume you understand, its just we brits are more somberly dressed) and petrified the poor children while offering them treats.

Later this week I expect the yoofs to start wandering the streets with very poorly-made Guys asking for pennies but meaning pounds so they can buy more illicit fireworks to set off in the street. And finally on Saturday we'll have the official displays, a few oohs and aahhhs and it'll be over for another year. I'm glad its a little colder today, I was thinking that Guy Fawkes Night in teeshirts wasn't really fitting with the theme. It needs a big bonfire, gloves to burn with sparklers and freezing whilst huddling in a good vantage spot on some bridge waiting for the fireworks to start in order to be truly authentic.