31 Days of Halloween: Day 10

Another late post, as I was still down with a bad cold yesterday and not in the mood for doing much celebrating. I caught up with my Halloween tea and story today though.

Today's Tea

I'm catching up with what would've been yesterday's tea... Dorian Grey from Monster Mash Teas. It's absolutely delightful, the most delicious Earl Grey ever. Downside is, I now have to keep a cup of rancid stewed tea in my attic. Swings and roundabouts.

Today's Story

And catching up with what would've been yesterday's classic tale of horror... 'The Body-Snatcher' by Robert Louis Stevenson.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 9

Unfortunately, my Halloween celebrations have been curtailed for a couple of days, as I caught a nasty cold at the weekend. It's the first cold I've had since before lockdown, and I'd forgotten how unpleasant they can be. So, I'm posting Sunday and Monday's posts a bit late. Hopefully I'll be back on track after today though.

Today's Tea

As I've been under the weather past couple of days, I haven't quite kept up with my Halloween tea-a-day. I'm catching up now with the tea I would've had on Sunday... Campfires and Vampires from Bird and Blend Tea Co. It's a green tea with rose petals, cinnamon, cloves and red peppercorns. No idea if it will help my cold or repel vampires, but it tastes absolutely lovely.

Today's Story

And the perfect accompaniment to the tea, today I read what would've been Sunday's classic tale of horror, 'For the Blood is the Life' by F. Marion Crawford.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 8

It's been an incredibly busy week, so today was a game of two halves. A litter-pick in the park in the morning, but then a quiet afternoon making soup and reading a book.

Today's Tea

Tonight's tea was Druids Dream from The Tea Crew. It's an infusion of hibiscus, apple, elderberry, banana, rosehip and strawberry. It's absolutely delicious and looks gorgeous, but it leaves the question: do Druids dream of bananas?

Today's Story

Tonight's classic tale of horror was 'The Vampyre' by John Polidori.

Boggart Hole Clough Litter-Pick

I was out in Boggart Hole Clough (a park that is reputedly haunted by a boggart) this morning for the monthly community litter-pick. It was quiet, but gloriously autumnal. I've taken lots of acorn pictures this year, but seem to have missed the conkers. Went to a big chestnut tree in the Clough today to look for some, and this is literally all the squirrels had left, the greedy little nutkins.

Mystery Allotment Squash Soup

Remember my mystery squash from Tuesday? Well, I cut into it and I really don't think it was a summer squash or a round courgette. I'm pretty sure it was some type of winter squash. Anyway, I made it into a soup with a red chilli (also from the allotments), and whatever it was it tasted great.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 7

I'm a little bit delayed posting this, but it's another day of Halloween! I had some work commitments yesterday that, while nice, were definitely not things I could count as seasonal celebrations (I have to be honest that afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor of Manchester isn't a Halloween event). I've decided that I really can't shoehorn them in, so this post will just include the 100% Halloween stuff.

Today's Tea

Yesterday's tea was Black Forest No. 1 from Tenacious Tea! It's got cocoa nibs and cherry pieces, so as you might have guessed it tastes like a cup of Black Forest gateau!

Today's Story

Yesterday's classic tale of horror was 'The Shunned House' by H.P. Lovecraft.

Halloween Earrings

I wore my bee earrings for afternoon tea with the Lord Mayor (of course), but I changed into something more seasonally appropriate for the evening.

Battle Royale

We spent an awesome evening watching Battle Royale (2000) with friends at Chapeltown Picture House last night. I haven't seen Battle Royale in a good few years, and I'd forgotten just how much fun it is!

31 Days of Halloween: Day 6

Bit of a busy day today. There were a couple of very Halloweeny things, and a few things that were nice but perhaps not 100% Halloween. I'm still going to count them though.

Today's Tea

Tonight's tea was... not strictly speaking Halloween themed. Or is a cowboy a Halloween thing? Anyway, it was The Bandit from Tea and the Gang. It's a chocolate and orange black tea!

Today's Story

Tonight's classic tale of horror was 'The Willows' by Algernon Blackwood.

A Visit to the Avenue Library

I was at the Avenue Library today. I tried to find the most Halloween-appropriate selection of books, but I'm not sure I quite managed it! Close enough though.

Lunch at the Hidden Gem Coffee Shop

I went for lunch with my mum at the Hidden Gem Coffee Shop in Heaton Park today. Again, not the most Halloween-tastic thing ever, but I guess Red Velvet Cake looks a little bit seasonal.

Ghost Story Readalong Live

I did the first Facebook Live for the Ghost Story Readalong tonight. It's didn't go... smoothly. But at least I had fun.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 5

Today was a bit of a marathon work day, so there was no time for anything more than a Halloween tea and a story. Still, at least I managed to fit those little seasonal things in.

Today's Tea

Tonight's tea was Winter Charm from Ahmad Tea. It's apple, cinnamon, cloves and orange zest. Admittedly that means it tastes more Christmassy than Halloweeny. But still.

Today's Story

Tonight's classic tale of horror was 'Young Goodman Brown' by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 4

I'm posting this a little late, as I didn't get chance to finish my post before I went to bed last night. Tuesday and Wednesday were both incredibly busy for me, so there wasn't a lot of festive fun to be honest. Just teas, stories, and a couple of added extras today.

Today's Tea

Tonight's tea was Spicy Apple from Tea People. As well as apple, it's got ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and pepper. But it also has stevia, so it's a VERY sweet spicy apple flavour. Oh, and it's blood red.

Today's Story

Tonight's classic tale of horror was 'The Elixir of Life' by Honoré de Balzac.

Halloween Earrings

Today's earrings were little silver pumpkins!

Seasonal (?) Squash

I had a work meeting on Tuesday afternoon and a colleague brought along a selection of veg from the local allotments. Well impressed with this! I'm excited about my (I think) round courgette/summer squash, even if it's not strictly speaking a Halloween-themed vegetable.

Slade House

This week's tram reading is Slade House by David Mitchell. It seems to match the tram more than the season, but I've been assured this is a suitable Halloween read.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 3

Today was a work day, and a very busy one at that, so there wasn't really any time for festive shenanigans. But I still managed to sneak in a tea and a story, and I was wearing seasonal earrings while I did to keep a little Halloween magic going.

Today's Tea

Tonight's tea was the delightfully named Toe of Frog from the delightfully named Monster Mash Teas. I loved all of their concoctions last year, so I'm excited to try a new selection this year! (Toe of Frog is actually quite a light and gentle vanilla green tea.

Today's Story

Tonight's classic tale of horror was 'Kerfol' by Edith Wharton.

Halloween Earrings

Today's earrings were glittery wicked witch shoes. I also had teeny cauldron, witch's hat and black cat studs in but they're not as easy to photograph!