Hannah Marchant unveils grandad Ronald’s wizard pic for Halloween
All Hallow’s Eve has been celebrated in spooktacular style by greeting card retailers and publishers – with Hannah Marchant pulling off one of the best stories!
Yesterday, 31 October, The Henries Most Promising Young Designer Or Artist finalist unveiled a fabulous family photo of her grandad Ronald dressed as a witch with black cat and broomstick attached to a Royal Navy helicopter.
On her Hannah Marchant Ltd Facebook page Hannah revealed it’s her “all-time favourite photo from the Marchant vault” and was taken at Royal Naval Air Station Brawdy, based near St David’s in Pembrokeshire, in the 1960s.
She said: “Ronald was suspended from a Westland Whirlwind helicopter on a broom dressed as a witch – complete with witches’ cat, not a real one I might add. They circulated the sky to terrify schoolchildren – not sure if modern safety regulations would permit this now!”
At Maddison in Harborne, part of the Bentley’s and Maddison group of four independent greeting card and gift stores, staff have been pulling out all the stops for the town’s week-long Pumpkin Parade Best Window competition, determined to hold on to the crown they won last year.
The parade kicked off on Friday, 27 October, and runs until Sunday, 5 November, with Maddison among 22 local businesses taking part by carving and displaying their pumpkin entry, for villagers to locate them all and piece together the hidden message, with a prize draw to win a voucher to spend in the High Street.
“This year’s amazing Halloween window display – the Great Witches’ Bake Off – has been created by Karen Evitts who is part of the Maddison sales team,” explained shop manager Bev Yates.
At Cardies in Stevenage The Ponks squad of meeters and greeters helped out with a Trick Or Treat High Street event on Saturday, 28 October, with owner Jo Sorrell adding: “We even had a StrawB Spider!” as chief Ponk Strawberry Orberry took to his Halloween costume.
Earlybird was among 27 local Stoke Newington businesses taking part in the Trick Or Eat Trail yesterday, as co-owner Heidi Early explained people were asked to “dress up in your finest costume and pop into participating businesses for tricks, treats and bring along something to donate to the Hackney Foodbank collection too”.
This year, the UK’s spooky spending is projected to reach over £1billion, a significant jump on the previous year as people have increased their Halloween costs by 342% over the last decade.
“With the cost-of-living crisis looming over everything we do, the traditional markers of adulthood have become less well-defined and less attainable,” said Jonathan Merry, personal finance expert at Moneyzine.
“Unlike Christmas, which can often be seen as stressful, with family obligations and mounting expenses to contend with, Halloween is more subversive and offers opportunities for costumes, silliness and scares – in essence, a form of escapism not offered by any other holiday season.”
At Lovely Libby’s in Rayleigh, Halloween was also being served up in the tearoom as well as in the greeting card and gift departments, with this delicious autumnal pumpkin sponge filled and topped with cream cheese icing and white chocolate ghosts.
Meanwhile Medici Gallery, in London’s South Kensington, went for bats and cats in a wonderful window display, and it was pumpkins and ghosts for Tettenhall’s Hugs & Kisses.
And pumpkins were also on the menu at Chirpy in Chapel Allerton where owner Jo McBeath and staff members Herfa, Jenna, Lizzie and Evie decorated their own versions for the shop – Jo laughed: “Not sure how long they’ll last in the horrible weather!”
Now they’re busily redecorating with a festive theme all ready for this Friday’s seventh Chirpyversary party at the shop.
And finally, Charlotte Eccles went full Harry Potter with her post extolling the virtues of the I’m Just Here For The Butterbeer flavoured candle at Raffia in Clitheroe, adding: Happy Halloween. These candles smell as good as Neville Longbottom looked in Attitude magazine… #iykyk if you don’t, Google it immediately!” which we may have used as an excuse to picture him too!
