It’s the time of year again when all the young people get dressed up as zombies, vampires and ghosts and set out to scare the living daylights out of anyone bold enough to open the door to trick or treaters. The fun continues a week later on 5th November when we set fireworks off in rememberance of Guy Fawkes and his treason plot. All great fun for most, but not everyone has the nerves to enjoy this time of year and it would be considerate to bear a thought for our elderly folk who may get confused by all the noise and unusual activity.
In some parts of the country, Halloween has mostly lost its light hearted fun and has been swapped for terrorising people, the day before halloween named “mischief night” consists of egg throwing, window smashing and in some extreme cases car burning. Having witnessed first hand the lengths people go to terrorise others and get away with it in the name of “fun” is alarming. So no wonder the doors of the elderly get locked up and don’t get opened again for a few days until everything has calmed down.
For these few nights of the year in some of our rougher streets, we are overrun, police and the fire department are stretched to capacity so people know there is no point in making the call to report a problem. One person I spoke to last year said that they were going to stock up on the essentials and lock in for a few days, once its all over they would come out to asses the damage. Sounds like the talk of a warzone, but this is happening here in the UK.
Everyone should be able to enjoy these traditions while being respectful to others without taking things too far, but some youngsters take things to the extreme and cause criminal damage, this isn’t good.
So this year, please spare a thought for the elderly people around you and do whatever you can to make sure they’re safe while the hooligans have their fun.
Find a family friendly event in your area and look out for each other. Have a great Halloween & bonfire night!
