¡Chiste!

¡Chiste!

Joke! 

What happens when an alien, an ancient Egyptian, Harriet Potter and a clown walk into a bar? 

Halloween!!! 

This year I put more thought and effort into my costume than ever before. Armed with 36m of tin foil, eyeliner, 3 face paint crayons and a skype collaboration with Katherine, I became an alien. For anyone who wishes to try this, be careful and don't bother with sellotape (useless, my legs kept falling off) and make sure you can remove the face paint easily (mine took a lot of scrubbing). 

Not too many other people were dressed up and it was quite quiet on Halloween, but more lively the next day (a holiday in Spain) as on the 1st November is Día de los Santos. This is the Spanish version of perhaps the more widely recognized Día de los Muertos in Mexico; the difference between the 2 is obvious. Spain's is more of a sombre remembrance of the dead, visits to grave yards are made with flowers and families are 
together, while in Mexico it is generally a celebration of the lives of the dead and  while also family centred it 
is more celebratory in tone. Both eat sweet treats; here all bakeries have been selling Huesos de Santo, small marzipan textured sweets in the shape of bones, while Mexicans eat sugar skulls (the very recognizable decorated skull symbols that now adorn many a t-shirt). 

The weather did it's best to be sombre and we got soaked walking back on the second night (dressed as Frida Kahlo, my only concern was that my mono-brow did not run down my face), Having crawled into bed at 4:30am and 6am (after putting the washing machine on for my wet clothes) for the past 2 nights only to wake up at 3pm and 5pm, I am now ready to return to the the daylight hours of the living.