Out and about. Autumn colours. Hallowe’en decorations. Trick-or-treating. Cob-coaling.

Yesterday’s weather did improve. In the afternoon we went out with a rubbish bag and the litter-picker, collecting drinks cans, sweet and crisp packets, odds and ends of rubbish along the way. It’s amazing how much stuff gets thrown out of car windows or just tossed aside by walkers (who should know better!). We drew the line at abandoned dog-poop bags though.

 

We call this kind of walk “doing a Sedaris” after the comedian David Sedaris who once made us laugh with his descriptions of going out collecting litter … and incidentally meeting his Fitbit step target at the same time. 

 

So we had a good walk. We admired the autumn colours in the trees.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And even the fungus along the way! 

But not so much the Hallowe’en decorations on a house up the lane out of the village. This particular household always goes a little over the top with decorations for Hallowe’en, Christmas, probably the Jubilee although I didn’t see that, and any other excuse for celebration. I must remember to keep a look out as the king’s coronation date comes around.

 

 

But that kind of false cobwebbing has been condemned by animal rights people:-

“Hey, neighbors, please don’t use this stuff to decorate! Fake spiderweb decorations kill birds. It’s strong enough to snare an owl and takes a terrible toll every October on small birds, including humming birds. It’s also deadly to monarch butterflies and even bees.”

Judging by the mis-spelling of “neighbours” and by some of the wildlife examples given I would hazard that this was originally aimed at Americans, even more specifically at the inhabitants of the more southern  states. We may not have humming birds but our own native small birds can get caught in the stuff too. 

Most people seem satisfied to put a token pumpkin on their doorstep. I’m not sure quite what that is supposed to do - keep the ghoulies and ghosties at bay perhaps? But probably not the trick-or-treaters!

I’m hoping nobody comes trick-or-treating to my door as I have precious little to offer by way of treats. Some of the children who live in our collection of houses are now old enough to go round begging for treats from the neighbours so I am half expecting some callers. I found myself thinking about this. It’s an odd thong to send your children out knocking on random strangers’ door. Before trick-or-treating was a thing in this country, however, there was the custom of “cob calling”, at least in the north of England. Wikipedia tells us this:-

“Cob coaling, cob-a-coaling or cob calling was a traditional Bonfire Night custom practiced in the Yorkshire-Lancashire border region, which involved going door-to-door in groups and singing a song in return for Bonfire Night supplies. In more recent times, singers collected firewood and money for fireworks, but "coaling" refers to the coal that would previously have been collected.

Here is one version of the Cob Coaling Song:-

“We come a Cob-coaling for Bonfire time,

Your coal and your money we hope to enjoy.

Fal-a-dee, fal-a-die, fal-a-diddly-i-do-day.

For down in yon’ cellar there’s an owd umberella

And up on yon’ cornish there’s an owd pepperpot.

Pepperpot! Pepperpot! Morning ’till night.

If you give us nowt, we’ll steal nowt and bid you good night.

Up a ladder, down a wall, a cob o’coal would save us all.

We knock at your knocker and ring at your bell

To see what you’ll give us for singing so well.”

As with going round with a “guy” on a bogey asking for “a penny for the guy” so that we could buy extra bangers and rip-raps, my father would absolutely not allow us to be involved in such activities. His children were not going begging!!

Will anyone have spare money for fireworks this coming 5th of November? That remains to be seen. And quite a lot of municipalities have declared that they are not spending their councils’ money on huge displays this year. However, as I have already commented, Christmas lights appear to being put up! Of course, with fireworks there is also the environmental pollution question. 

Everyone is a little subdued!

But at least Boris Johnson has withdrawn from the Conservative Party leadership competition. Small mercies, I suppose! Later today we should find out if there is to be a competition or if Sunak is slotted into place. Another reason to be subdued! But…

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!