It's Beginning to Look Somewhat Like Christmas...

Monday afternoon, after parting ways with the AWC ladies I'd gone on a walking tour with, I took the Tube into central London to do some Christmas shopping and check out the holiday decorations.  Oxford Street did not disappoint.  Even though it was mid-afternoon, it was already starting to get dark (the sun sets around 4 pm these days!)

Lights on Oxford Street

I started at Marks & Spencer, since I had £50 worth of vouchers from signing up with Sky (our tv/phone/internet provider) that I keep forgetting to use.  My primary goal for the day: Christmas cards.  This is when I discovered that 90% of the greeting cards in the UK are square.  This is not a big deal if you are sending them within the UK, but square envelopes can not be processed by mail sorting machines in the US, so they require extra postage.  Not ideal.  The few rectangular cards they had were either too ugly or too expensive (my $80 worth of vouchers would have bought me about 20 cards), so I moved on.

Marks & Spencer

A couple blocks away was Selfridge's.  This London institution was founded by (gasp!) an American entrepreneur over 100 years ago and is considered one of the best department stores in the world.

Even the building itself is spectacular -- particularly all decked out for Christmas.

Exterior detail

Selfridge's main entrance

The window displays had a quirky all-white theme highlighted with neon lights

Women's accessories

Women's fashion

Christmas ornaments

My friend Bethie told me she fell in love with a pair of leather ballet flats at Selfridge's, but the relationship ended badly when the sales clerk told her they cost £350 (that's about $550!).  Keeping that in mind, I ventured inside to see what the fuss was all about.  I only saw a small part of the store, but WOW!  Like John Lewis, they sell just about everything, but it's a bit more high-end.  I could have easily spent the rest of the day browsing around the store, but it was mobbed, even on a Monday afternoon, and some of the customers who were trying out the karaoke machine definitely should not quit their day jobs, if they have one.  A whole section of the ground floor had been converted into a Christmas shop, with all sorts of decorations, gift wrap, ornaments, artificial trees, and even a life-size stuffed reindeer.  (Sorry, but it seemed weird to take photos inside the store.) Their non-square Christmas cards were lovely, but mostly way out of my budget.

I gave up on finding Christmas cards on this particular outing, and hopped on a bus to Knightsbridge to check out the window displays at Harrods, which is probably the world's most ostentatious department store.  It was lit up like a Christmas tree!

Harrods

I did buy a few small gifts there, as well as a Harrods shopping bag for myself that matched this peacock tile mosaic from the food halls.

Two of my favorite things: art tile and peacocks (three if you include the patisserie!)

I thought it was a bit odd when the sales clerk asked if I needed directions to another part of the store, but when I was ready to leave (which didn't take long, since it was even more crowded than Selfridge's), I could not find my way back out!  I eventually did have to ask someone for directions.  Glad to be back out in the fresh air, I grabbed my camera and snapped some photos of their window displays.  Oddly enough, they had the same monochromatic white-on-white theme as Selfridge's, but the neon lights had been replaced by Swarovski crystals.  There was nothing inherently Christmas-y about them -- they looked more like scenes from fairy tales or romance novels.  (Some of these are just begging for a caption contest!)

Ooh, another peacock!

The windows were lovely, but surely there is SOME department store in the London area that has window displays with Santa and his elves making toys?  Or is that too much of a cliche?

From the Old Jewish Quarter to Little Bengal

When I walk through the streets of London, even in my own quiet residential neighborhood in Wimbledon, I hear people speaking English with many different accents, or conversing in a multitude of other languages, some of which I don't even recognize.  This city is a melting pot of people from all over the world -- some are recent immigrants, while others have been here for many generations.  A few can even trace their ancestral arrival in England back several centuries. 

Monday morning I met up with a group of AWC ladies by the Tower of London for a private London Walks tour of the Old Jewish Quarter.  To be honest, while I do have some Jewish ancestry myself, I didn't even know there WAS an old Jewish quarter in London -- it's not a city known for its large Jewish population, nor has it ever been, as far as I know.  But according to our guide, Harry, there have been Jews in England since the reign of William the Conqueror (1066-1087) -- which is when the Tower itself was built.

Tower of London on a foggy morning

Edward I expelled the Jews from England in 1290, and it wasn't until the mid 1600's that the Jewish population re-established itself in London.  Most were Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, but later immigrants included Ashkenazi Jews from Germany and Eastern Europe.  Several synagogues were built in and near the City of London to support these communities, most of which were destroyed by bombs during WWII.

Our walk took us around the East End of London, which is an area I haven't seen much of, since I live quite a distance away in SW London.  The first stop on our tour was Crutched Friars street, which is only about 2 blocks long and then changes its name to Jewry Street.  A good sign that there was once a large Jewish community here.

Harry explains the street name under the friars.

 Right across the street from where we were standing were two adjacent street signs.

Street names change every few blocks in London!

It was a cold, foggy day -- so much so that we could not even see the top of the iconic "Gherkin" building a few blocks away.

The Gherkin disappears into the fog

There are estimated to be at least 300,000 Jews living in England, but very few of them still live in this neighborhood.  Of course, very few people in general live in this part of London these days -- it's mostly office buildings now.  We visited the sites where the synagogues once stood, which are marked with plaques.

Site of Great Synagogue 1690-1941

Site of first synagogue in London, established by Sephardic Jews

Still standing, on a small side street, is the Bevis Marks synagogue.  Completed in 1701, it is the oldest synagogue in the UK that is still in use.  We willingly paid £4 each to go inside, just as eager to see the interior as to get out of the cold and damp for a little while.  We were not allowed to take photos inside, but you can see what the interior looks like on their web site.  (You may want to turn your computer's speakers down or off first...)

Bevis Marks Synagogue

We learned about the history of the Synagogue and some of its famous sons, including former Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.  Disraeli's father had a falling-out with Bevis Marks when Benjamin was a boy, and had him baptized in the Anglican church -- an act which ultimately lead to Disraeli's successful political career, as Jews were not allowed to become members of Parliament at that time.

When we reluctantly came back outside, the fog had lifted a bit, but it was still quite chilly.

The Gherkin reappears

We continued to Brune St, where we saw this lovely building.  Established in 1854, the Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor once served up to 4000 people a night.  It relocated to this building in 1902, where it operated continuously for 90 years until it closed in 1992.  The building fell into disrepair, but has since been fixed up and converted into luxury apartments

Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor

Harry asked if we'd heard of Middlesex street, and then suggested we might know it better as "Petticoat Lane."  A street market has operated here on and off for 400 years.  Because the market is held on Sundays, most of the vendors were originally Jews, who did not have their Sabbath on Sunday.  As new immigrants arrived from South Asia and the Middle East, they were later joined by Muslim vendors, with whom they often formed successful business partnerships.

Petticoat Lane Market

I couldn't resist stopping along the way to take a photo of this barber shop...

Jack the Clipper

As I mentioned, there is no longer a much of a Jewish population in this neighborhood. Today it is home to a large community of immigrants from Bangladesh. Most of the street signs are posted in both English and Bengali.

No cricket!?  No football?!

One of the more well-known streets in this area is Brick Lane, which is lined with an impressive number of curry houses (Indian restaurants).  Harry tipped us off that there are also some good bagel shops at the other end of the street.  Now I know where to go if I'm craving curry and bagels!

Brick Lane/ "Banglatown"

Brick Lane gate

Our tour ended near the Whitechapel Gallery, where Harry pointed out a clothing store called Albert's that was once the offices of a Jewish newspaper.  The masthead logo can still be seen above the door.

At this point, we were all cold, tired, and hungry, so we made a beeline back up Brick Lane to an Indian restaurant that Harry had recommended.  The service was a little spotty and we were the ONLY people in the restaurant, but it was nice and warm inside and the food was pretty good.  I suppose when there are so many similar restaurants to choose from, it's unlikely that any of them would be crowded on a Monday afternoon, and this one was probably one of the pricier options.  Still, it was a nice ending to our walking tour of the Old Jewish Quarter, which is now Banglatown.

How to Get to Putney When the District Line is Down

Since Armistice/Veterans Day always falls on November 11, which is more often than not a weekday, the UK has set aside the second Sunday in November as Remembrance Day, which is when all the ceremonies take place.  Several AWC members were planning to go to the Brookwood Cemetery to attend a service for the American soldiers buried there, but since Josh was still trying to fight off his cold, we decided to skip it.

However, since it was a sunny, unseasonably warm (60 degrees!) day, Josh thought some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise might do him some good.  After a homemade pumpkin pancake brunch, we laced up our walking shoes and set off towards Wimbledon Common.  Just before leaving Wimbledon Village and entering the Common, we passed the WWI Memorial, where there had been a service earlier that day.  The entire base of the memorial was covered with poppy wreaths commemorating different groups.

Wimbledon WWI Memorial

Poppy wreath

We weren't the only ones who thought it would be a nice day to go to the Common and go for a walk, have a picnic, ride a bike, walk the dog, play with the kids, or ride a horse.  Fortunately, the Common is so vast and crisscrossed with walking trails, that it rarely feels crowded, even on a day like this.

A nice day to be in the Common

We thought it would be a good opportunity to visit the Windmill Museum in the middle of the Common, since it's only open on weekends, but it was closed.  Turns out it's only open on weekends between March and October.  Doh!  Someday, the planets will align and we'll actually be there when it's open.

The Windmill Museum

The adjacent tea room was doing a brisk business.  We considered stopping for a cuppa, but the line was long and we only had an hour and a half of daylight left, so we continued north towards Putney Heath.

A nice Autumn day in Putney Heath

And eventually emerged in Putney, where we continued along the high street towards the town center.  We pass through Putney all the time on the Tube, but we had never spent any time there.  It turns out it's a lot like Wimbledon.  It has two Tube stations and a train station, a small shopping mall, and most of the same high street shops and restaurants. 

The Railway pub, across from the train station

The only big difference is that Putney sits right on the Thames, so it has some nice riverfront areas and is closer to central London.  I can see why it was recommended to us as a potential place to live, and had we had more time to look at rentals, it would have been nice to see what our options were, but I suspect Wimbledon is still more convenient for Josh's commute.

We stopped in the mall for tea and cake, and continued on towards the river as the sun was setting.

View from Putney Bridge

We reached Putney Bridge just as the sun went below the horizon, and the lights came on around the distinctive apartment building that overlooks the river by the bridge.

Apartment building near Putney Bridge

I was surprised to learn that of all the bridges in London, Putney Bridge was the second one built, after London Bridge.  Of course, both bridges have since been rebuilt, but there has been a bridge here since 1729.  Why? Because the royals used to hunt in Richmond Park, and didn't like having to wait for the ferry to get back and forth across the river.

Since it was completely dark and Josh was tuckered out, we hopped on the 93 bus for the trip home.  It follows almost the same route that we walked -- except that it runs alongside the Common rather than through it -- and stops 3 blocks from our house.  We were able to score the front seats on the upper level of the bus, which gives you a better view than the driver and made for an equally scenic trip home.

View from the upper deck of the bus

If I ever need to go back to Putney, I now know I have at least three options -- Tube, bus, or walk.  I suspect I'll take the bus.  It's a bit faster than walking, and cheaper, more reliable, and more convenient than the Tube.

While the Cat's Away...

This past week was a busy one for Josh, work-wise.  He had a dinner meeting on Monday night and then was away attending meetings at another office in northern England Tuesday through Friday, so I was on my own for most of the week.  Six months ago, I would have been pretty unhappy to be left alone here for that long -- and, in fact, that happened several times as Josh had to take a few business trips soon after we moved here.  But now that we're settled into our house and I've made some new friends, it wasn't so bad.

Monday was the American Women's Club (AWC) Holiday Bazaar, where about 30 vendors were selling jewelry, scarves, pottery, candles, clothing, ornaments, and other crafty git items.  Of course, most of us ended up buying things for ourselves, and I was no exception.  I'm not organized enough to have already started my Christmas shopping, and some of the things I would have normally considered buying as gifts would have been challenging or impractical to bring back to the US in my suitcase.  But I did end up with some nice Polish pottery baking/serving dishes and a necklace, so it was a fruitful endeavor for myself, anyway.

Tuesday morning, I met four other local AWC ladies for coffee at the Canizzaro House in Wimbledon Village.  It's a historic home that was converted into a swanky hotel, but it also has a cozy lobby where you can get coffee, snacks, and afternoon tea.  It was quite a well-traveled group.  One woman had moved here from Norway, another from Paris, and a third from Dublin -- and will be moving to Hong Kong next year.  The fourth moved here from New York, but she is from France and is married to an American.  It was a damp, chilly day, so it was nice to be indoors sipping hot drinks.  If they had lit the fire in the fireplace, I probably would have stayed there all day.

As my friend Ingrid and I were walking back towards the town center to run some errands afterwards, we found a Blackberry on the sidewalk.  We were able to get the owner's name and the company she worked for from the home screen, so Ingrid looked up the company on her iPhone and found their phone number.  Fortunately, the owner's husband worked at the same company, so we were put through to him and explained that we had found his wife's Blackberry in Wimbledon and wanted to know how to get it back to her.  He was grateful, although a little unsure how he would track his wife down if she didn't have her Blackberry, but he said he'd have her give me a call back.  She called me about half an hour later and arranged to come by my house to pick it up that evening.  I'm doing my part to give Londoners a better impression of Americans...

We got a warning from the U.S. Embassy that student demonstrations were planned in central London on Wednesday afternoon.  I was originally considering going into central London to shop for some household items that I hadn't been able to find in Wimbledon the day before, but that convinced me to head out of London entirely and go to Kingston instead.  Kingston is a lovely town on the banks of the Thames that has TONS of shops, a huge mall, a lovely town square with a farmer's market, and is an easy 15-minute train ride from Wimbledon.  Even better, you don't have to fight your way through hordes of tourists to get your shopping done.

I was able to find most of the odds and ends I was looking for at Clas Ohlson (IKEA-esque housewares) and Lakeland (kitchen stuff), and then was drawn to John Lewis by their pretty sparkling Chrismas lights. 

John Lewis holiday lights

John Lewis is a huge department store that sells EVERYTHING. Imagine Macy's, Best Buy, a furniture store, a fabric/craft store, a sporting goods store, and a toy store all in one, and then add a full-scale supermarket underneath, an espresso bar, and a restaurant on top. That's John Lewis. I was looking for scented sachets or shelf paper for the drawers in our bed, since I noticed the pajamas I've been storing in there have taken on an unappealing particle board odor. I asked a customer service person where I could find them and was directed to the Haberdashery department. Seriously! And, of course, I found BOTH things there, but since I didn't care for the strong rose scent of the shelf paper, I bought some less offensive sachets and unscented paper instead.

John Lewis also has an area devoted to London 2012 merchandise for next year's Olympic Games.   There is the usual assortment of t-shirts, tote bags, pins, and keychains.  And then there's this:

Fancy an Olympic tea cosy?

Sorry the photos are a little blurry.  I didn't have my camera with me, so I took them with my iPhone, which I clearly haven't yet mastered.

Why are Olympic mascots so creepy and/or phallic?

I also did a quick run through the big TK Maxx store across the street. And no, that's not a typo.  In the UK, TJ Maxx is called TK Maxx.  I normally do not have the patience to sort through racks and racks of picked-over marked-down clothing, but I have discovered that the small TK Maxx store in Wimbledon often has random imported food products near the registers, including American products that are hard to find here.  I pop in there every now and then to see what's in stock, and in the past have scored salsa, Libby's canned pumpkin, Reese's peanut butter cups, and German Lebkuchen.  I've also seen stuff I would never buy -- Aunt Jemima syrup, Pop Tarts, marshmallow fluff, cake mix and frosting, and Jelly Bellys -- but that other Americans must be happy to find.   This TK Maxx had all of the above, and more!  Stove Top stuffing, Hershey's hot fudge topping, microwave popcorn, Jif peanut butter, and Reese's Crunch cereal (!?).  I couldn't resist the hot fudge topping, and picked up two cans of pumpkin, since we'll be here for Thanksgiving.

Random imports at TK Maxx

Thursday was AWC theater day, so I met 4 other women at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square and we bought tickets to see a 3:00 matinee of Crazy for You at the Novello Theatre.  We were all in the mood for something fun and lighthearted -- especially after my last theater day experience -- so this fit the bill perfectly.

Crazy for You at the Novello Theatre

We had a leisurely lunch at Lupita, which is one of the few decent Mexican restaurants in London, and then since we still had some time to kill before our show, walked over to Covent Garden.  On the way, we had to stop and take a picture of this sign:

Interesting way to attract customers, and staff...

Guy Fawkes Day must signal the start of the Christmas season here, because now that it has passed, all the holiday decorations have gone up.  Covent Garden had some impressive super-sized decorations.

Giant topiary Rudolph

We admired the decor, listened to a string quintet play, and browsed through some of the vendor stalls.  Lots of neat stuff -- I may need to go back sometime and do some Christmas shopping.

Giant ornaments

The woman who sold us our tickets at the TKTS booth described our seats as "brilliant," and she was right.  We were in the center of the front row of the mezzanine.  As with all West End theaters, there wasn't much leg room and the seats were a bit uncomfortable, but we had a great view of the stage.  We all enjoyed the show -- which has a lot of familiar songs -- although a couple of the actors seemed to struggle a bit with their American accents.  There was definitely a Victor/Victoria thing going on during the musical number "Stiff Upper Lip": British actors pretending to be Americans singing with a British accent.  Since the theater was so close to the Waterloo Bridge,  my fellow Wimbledon resident Nancy and I just walked across to Waterloo Station after the show and took the train back to Wimbledon from there.

Friday was Armistice Day in the UK, for the same reason it is Veteran's Day in the US.   For the past week or so, people have been collecting donations to support the Royal British Legion and giving out paper poppies to anyone who donates.  I'd say at least half of the people I've passed on the street or seen on the Tube/train have had one of this pinned to their coat.  For that reason, Nov 11 is also known as "Poppy Day."  Although this had always seemed like a very British tradition to me, the use of a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance originated with an American woman, who was inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields," which was written by a Canadian.

paper poppy

Friday morning I pinned my poppy to my coat and showed up at the AWC office in Kensington at 10:30 am for my third Mah Jongg session.  I've always enjoyed playing games, and thought it would be a good opportunity to meet some more people and learn a new game.  There is a dedicated group that plays twice a week and has regular teaching sessions to encourage new players.  I'm not sure why it's so popular with American women in London.  So far, everyone I've played with had never played Mah Jongg before they moved here.  It's NOTHING like the old computer game where you match tiles.  It's more like Gin Rummy, but with infinitely more complicated rules. After playing for a combined total of about 15 hours, I'm just starting to get the hang of it, but it would be nice to try some other games as well -- or see if anyone else would be interested in a Scrabble group...

When I got home Friday afternoon, Josh was back from his trip.  It was wonderful to see him after being apart all week.  Sadly, he felt like he was coming down with a cold, so we hunkered down in front of the TV with a warm blanket for most of the evening.  I certainly missed him while he was away, but I'm glad to know that I now feel comfortable being on my own here and can easily keep myself occupied when he has to be out of town.  But if he's going somewhere fun, I'd still much rather be able to tag along...

There's Gonna Be Fireworks

Guy Fawkes Day -- or as it seems more commonly known, Bonfire Night -- was on Saturday.  Much of the advertising -- like supermarkets promoting special offers on food and drinks for "bonfire night" -- reminded me of similar ads you see in the US for the Super Bowl.  Since "Super Bowl" is trademarked, the ads always have to refer to it in some other way, like the "big game."  In this case, though, I think it's because the origin of the holiday is largely forgotten (it has been over 400 years, after all), so most people think of November 5 as a day to have bonfires and fireworks.

The laws concerning fireworks here seem to be much more lenient than in the US.  In fact, according to the London Fire Brigade, this is it:

• It is an offence for anyone under the age of 18 to possess fireworks in public places and an offence for anyone other than a firework professional to possess professional display fireworks.
• Police have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to those under the age of 18 caught with fireworks in a public place.
• It is also illegal to set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am. On 5 November your display can continue until midnight. Exceptions have also been made for celebrating other special occasions like New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year when fireworks can be set off until 1am.

Since Diwali began 10 days before bonfire night, we've been hearing -- and often seeing -- fireworks nearly every night for the past couple weeks.  In addition to public displays at local parks and schools, there is a store that sells fireworks just 3 blocks from our house, so many of our neighbors have been setting them off from their yards.  The fire brigade must be extremely busy at this time of year!

Since we had gone to the bonfire and fireworks at Wimbledon Park on Friday night, and the weather was threatening to rain on Saturday, we decided to take advantage of everyone else being out watching fireworks and go see a movie.  Of course, as soon as it got dark (which happens here by 5 pm now) it sounded like a war zone with fireworks going off in every direction.  We opened the french doors of the little Juliet balcony in our bedroom and watched the fireworks display at the park 2 blocks away.  We could even see the glow from the bonfire.

Fireworks from our bedroom window

One of our neighbors behind us was having a party in their back garden, and they also had quite a few fireworks.  We poked our heads out the back door to get a better look, and saw our neighbors doing the same.  Then their 8-year-old son came outside with something that looked like a paint can -- but turned out to be some pretty serious-looking fireworks of their own.  Sadly, we had to leave before they set it off.  We kept our fingers crossed that our house would still be there when we returned.

We had a casual dinner at Nando's, and thanks to our table by the window, were treated to yet another fireworks display while we ate.  We had a brief respite from the pops, bangs, and booms while we watched Tintin (in IMAX 3D), which was quite entertaining, but the backyard shows continued until late at night.  We couldn't imagine there were any fireworks left in the greater London area by the time we went to bed, but apparently there were enough leftovers that they continued on Sunday -- even during the day.  Sheesh!  I love fireworks, but I'm looking forward to some explosion-free evenings.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

Today is Guy Fawkes Day in England -- which is traditionally celebrated with a huge bonfire, fireworks, and, of course, drinking.  Why?  Well, according to Wikipedia:

Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. Celebrating the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London, and months later the introduction of the Observance of 5th November Act enforced an annual public day of thanksgiving for the plot's failure.

Seems like kind of an odd thing to celebrate with so much hoopla.  It's not quite the same thing, but it would be like holding a big celebration every year on March 30 to commemorate John Hinckley's failed assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan -- and called it John Hinckley Day.  But why quibble when you can join in the fun?  My neighbor mentioned that they would be having a big fireworks display at Wimbledon Park on Friday, November 4, so we put it on the calendar.

When we woke up that morning, it was POURING rain, so it wasn't looking good for an evening of bonfires and fireworks, but it cleared up during the day and turned out to be a quite pleasant evening.  By the time Josh got home from work and we walked up to the park (and found the entrance), they had already lit the bonfire, which was so big that they fenced off a HUGE area around it.

The bonfire

Bonfire close-up

They announced that they had to sort something out with Air Traffic Control before the fireworks could begin.  Really?  They did think to do that in advance?  So we had time to grab a bite to eat.  There were plenty of food stalls, but they were all selling essentially the same things -- burgers, hot dogs, and -- oddly enough -- roast turkey and stuffing sandwiches.  None if it was very good, but we hadn't come for the food.

It is a day of thanksgiving, after all...

While we were eating, they announced that the fireworks were about to begin, so we found a spot near the bonfire -- well, near the fence around the bonfire -- to watch.  The theme was supposed to be "Best of Britain," which I guess referred to the accompanying music.  To us it sounded like someone had just turned on a radio and pressed the "scan" button.  I would have preferred something a little less haphazard, especially since they charged us £7 each to enter the park.  The fireworks themselves were certainly not on par with what we are used to seeing in Washington DC on the 5th of July, but they were still pretty good, and lasted about 20 minutes.

Fireworks, bonfire, and the moon

Oooh!

Ahhhh!

There was also a funfair (carnival) set up in the park, but having spent most of our cash on the entrance fee and food, we decided to skip it and walk back home. 

Funfair

We saw a few small backyard firework shows on our way home, and I'm sure we'll see many, many more tonight.  There is a store that sells fireworks about 3 blocks from our house, so people have been setting them off in our neighborhood for the past two weeks (some were for Diwali, I suspect).  I'm sure people have stocked up for their "Bonfire Night" parties.  In fact someone directly behind us is setting off fireworks while I'm typing this.  I never thought I'd say this, but I think could use a break from fireworks after this.

Halloween

Our neighborhood back in Arlington gets a little crazy on Halloween.  People who live along the major cross street by our house go all out with their decorations, including smoke machines, animatronic figures, and sound and light effects.  So many kids come trick-or-treating along that street that many residents just sit out on their front porches with a bowl of candy and a glass of wine, and I've seen lines form in front of houses as little ghosts and goblins wait to collect their treats.  We always decorated our house as well, but since we are slightly off the main drag, our doorbell didn't ring quite as frequently, and most of the tiny visitors lived on our block.  Sometimes a neighbor would invite us over, or we'd turn off the porch light and go for a quick walk down the street to check out the scene at Halloween Central.  It was always a fun time of year with several weeks of anticipation building up to it.

So, it was a bit disappointing to see hardly any Halloween decorations in London, especially after being back in DC in mid-October and seeing all the shops and houses festooned with giant spiderwebs, dried cornstalks, and homemade ghosts.  I did see Halloween candy for sale in the supermarkets here.  In addition to the usual bags of mini candy bars, Cadbury's and other confectioners had introduced special Halloween-themed candy -- my favorite being the Cadbury Screme Egg.  It's basically a Cadbury Creme Egg, but with green goop instead of the yellow "yolk" inside the white sugary filling.

My neighbor, Anna, told me that they usually don't get many trick-or-treaters here, and that her kids don't like Halloween (too scary!), so they would be staying home.  It sounded like it might be a bit quiet, but just to be on the safe side, I bought a bag of Cadbury miniatures, and spent $4 on an imported bag of Reese's peanut butter cup miniatures at TK Maxx that I planned to keep for myself.  That's what I usually give out on Halloween, and it's the only time of year I ever eat them, so I just HAD to have some.  You can find the regular 2-cup packs of Reese's here, but they don't sell them individually wrapped in bags for Halloween. 

Saturday evening we saw several people (adults) in Halloween costumes, presumably on their way to parties, so at least we knew that SOME people celebrate Halloween here.  Of course, the Brits seem to jump at any excuse to dress up in costumes and drink (see Stag and Hen parties), so that didn't come as a big surprise.

On Sunday, I sent Josh to Sainsbury's to get a pumpkin, a candle, and another bag of candy -- just in case -- along with a few other groceries.  (Sadly, they don't have pumpkin patches in London.)  After looking for inspiration online, we decided on a not-too-scary Jack Skellington face for our jack o' lantern, which Josh reproduced masterfully.  He carved, rather than cut out, the eye holes, so they would glow without revealing the candle inside.

Jack guards the Cadbury Screme Eggs

But after the candle kept going out, we realized it wasn't getting enough oxygen, so he had to cut them out after all.  The end result was pretty impressive:

Jack sits out on the window sill to watch for trick-or-treaters

Oddly enough, we got our first trick-or-treaters on SUNDAY evening.  I was upstairs, so I missed it, but Josh obligingly dumped all 3 bags of candy into a bowl and offered it up to the kids.  I think I would have at least demanded an explanation, if not suggested that perhaps they should come back on Halloween if they wanted candy.

Josh was hoping to work from home on Monday, but he had to meet with his boss down in Farnborough, so I was on my own.  We just set our clocks back on Sunday morning, so by 5 pm it was already dark.  I lit Jack's candle, turned on the porch light, and fished some of the peanut butter cups out of the candy bowl.  The first knock on the door came at 5:30.  By 6:00, I was chiding Anna for telling me not to expect too many trick-or-treaters, as we were both outside distributing candy to huge groups of costumed children.  She was just as overwhelmed as I was, and said this was triple the number of kids that came last year.  By 6:15 I was texting Josh to see if he could pick up some more candy on his way home from work.  I put all the peanut butter cups back in the bowl, and dumped in the two small boxes of Green & Black's miniatures I had bought to give as gifts.  When those were almost gone, I filled the bowl with the clementines and apples Josh had picked up at the store.  In desperation, I turned off the porch light, but they still kept knocking at the door, so I started handing out 2p coins I grabbed from the change bowl, and then finally stuck a Post-it note on the door saying "Sorry! Out of candy."

Josh got home at 7:30 with two bags of Milky Ways and Mars bars, so I turned the light back on and tossed the Post-it.  (As an aside, I discovered that UK Milky Ways = US 3 Musketeers, and UK Mars bars = US Milky Ways.  Why?!)  Ironically, we only got 3 more kids after that, so now we have a whole bowl full of "fun size" candy that I don't particularly like, and I gave away all the good stuff.  (And we're out of fruit!)  Next year, I will be better prepared.  I might even take the trouble to put up some decorations.