The Friday before last (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin, putting up some decorations and making some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons, made some potato salad based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya and my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, and dyed green). The drink recipe is from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen.
Here's a picture of the pumpkin:
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I normally post on Sundays or Mondays but didn't manage to get this post finished yesterday, so it's on a Tuesday instead. :)
We're now in October, so it's time for my summer-autumn update! :) You can see my previous updates for 2025 below:
Winter-Spring Update (2025): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/winter-spring-update-2025-easter-baking.html
Spring-Summer Update (2025): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/07/spring-summer-update-2025.html
Plus, Samhain/Hallowe'en is coming up), so I've included a section with inspiration for celebrating (scroll down to the bottom of the post).
In mid-July, I went to Yallabina, a belly dance event that I also went to last year. It was at a different venue this time (still in Brighton). Afterwards I got a mocha frappe from Hellenic Bakery, which I really liked.
In late July, I met up with my belly dance friends to celebrate a birthday. We went to a pub in Woodingdean (Brighton). It was nice to see them all after a while.
Then at the beginning of August, I celebrated Lammas. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/08/lammas-2025.html
I also met up with family members that month, who were visiting the UK. It was the first time I'd ever met them, so it was good. We had lunch in Harry Ramsden's (fish and chips restaurant in Brighton), then went on the pier. I've had takeaway from Harry Ramsden's but hadn't eaten in the restaurant before and I also hadn't been on the pier in years, so it made a change!
I shared a couple of pictures from that day in my Late Summer Photos + Happy Madron/Autumn! post, which you can see here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/09/late-summer-photos-happy-madronautumn.html
Here's a pic of my meal at Harry Ramsden's:
On Thursday the week before last (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin, putting up decorations and making some food and drink. Unfortunately I wasn't well on the day itself, so I had a slightly delayed celebration!
I put the decorations up on Hallowe'en (I like to decorate then and keep them up until the beginning of December!). And I made my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice), which is a recipe from The Real Witches' Kitchen book by Kate West.
Then the next day when I was feeling a bit better, I made the food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons and made some potato salad (one of my favourite types to make, which is based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya).
I normally use spring onion and chives for the potato salad rather than rosemary which is in the recipe, since it's quite strong. But this year I decided to use rosemary for a change. It was quite nice, I didn't use too much. I didn't take a picture but if I make it with rosemary again next year, I'll take one then. :)
I had the potato salad with some buffet type food from the supermarket (cheese and pineapple, paella arancini balls, halloumi fries etc.).
Here's a picture of the pumpkin:
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It's October once again and time for my summer-autumn update! You can see my previous updates for 2024 at the links below:
Winter-Spring Update (2024) https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/04/winter-spring-update-2024.html
Spring-Summer Update (2024) + Happy Lammas! https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/07/spring-summer-update-2024-happy-lammas.html
I've also included a section with Samhain/Hallowe'en inspiration, so scroll down to the bottom for that. :)
In mid-July I went to a belly dance event called Yallabina!, which was co-hosted by Nadia Undine whose classes I've been to. I watched performances and danced a bit at the end. It was the first time I'd danced this year, so it was nice to get back to it.
At the beginning of August I celebrated Lammas. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/08/lammas-2024.html
Then in mid-August I went to Five Guys at Brighton Marina. I got a burger and chips (fries), Coke and a chocolate milkshake.
Here are a couple of photos I took at the marina:
Last Tuesday (31st October) it was Hallowe'en and Samhain. I celebrated by carving a pumpkin and having some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons and made some potato salad based on a recipe from the book The Kitchen Witch by Soraya.
It requires rosemary and garlic, but I used chives and spring onion
instead of rosemary because I prefer them.
I also made my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice), which is a recipe from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen. I had the potato salad and drink with some buffet type food from the supermarket.
Here's a picture of the pumpkin:
It's now October, so time for my summer-autumn update! You can see my previous quarterly updates for this year at the links below:
Winter-Spring (2023): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/04/winter-spring-update-2023-happy-beltane.html
Spring-Summer (2023): https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/07/spring-summer-update-2023.html
I went shopping in Hove at the beginning of July and to Caffe Nero as well. I also went to Wendy's during July. We first got one in the Brighton area last year and I like the food but had only been a couple of times since it opened, most recently last autumn.
At the beginning of August I celebrated Lammas. You can see my post about it here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2023/08/lammas-2023.html
Later that month I went on a walk with my local mental health resource centre. We walked along the River Adur and went to Shoreham Beach. It was almost a year since I last went on a walk with them because the last one was a bit too long for me! But this was a mindful walk and I enjoyed it more. :)
Here's a photo I took on the walk:
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| The River Adur and Shoreham view. |
Last Monday it was Hallowe'en and Samhain (31st October). I celebrated with a pumpkin and by having some food and drink. I baked gingerbread skeletons and made my favourite Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with orange juice and apple juice, and dyed green). The drink recipe is from The Real Witches' Kitchen book by Kate West.
I also made some potato salad, based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. I normally use chives/and or spring onion instead of rosemary because I like it better. This year I used spring onion because I couldn't get any chives.
Here is a picture of my pumpkin:
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I normally post on Sundays or Mondays, but I wasn't able to get this finished yesterday, so I'm posting today instead. :)
Samhain (my favourite sabbat apart from Lammas) is coming up! This year it's on a Monday (31st October). I also celebrate Hallowe'en, which is thought to have originated from Samhain customs. In the past I've written several posts with ideas for celebrating and last year I did a round-up post linking to them all. During 2022 I've been writing posts sharing some links and ideas for the sabbats, rather than an in-depth post, so here is Samhain's. :)
Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! You might like my Happy Beltane! post: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2022/04/happy-beltane.html
Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year, coming after Lammas in late July/early August and Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox in September. It marks the end of summer and the start of the winter season. Madron is the official start of autumn, but I think in the past summer and winter were seen as the bigger seasonal shifts. It is also thought to be one of the times of year (along with Beltane) when the veil between the worlds is thin. It is a cross-quarter sabbat and a fire festival, and takes places on 31st October, although some people may celebrate from 31st Oct to 1st November (sundown to sundown).
It was Hallowe'en and Samhain last weekend (Sunday 31st October). I celebrated by carving a pumpkin and making some food and drink. I made my usual Demon's Blood drink (ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, dyed green) and potato salad and baked some gingerbread skeletons.
The Demon's Blood is a recipe from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen and the potato salad is based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch by Soraya. I use chives and or/spring onion instead of rosemary. This year I used chives. I had the potato salad with some other snacky/buffet bits.
Here's a picture of my pumpkin:
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It's nearly time for Samhain (one of the most popular sabbats and my favourite apart from Lammas!). This year's it on a Sunday (31st October). I also celebrate Hallowe'en (thought to have originated from Samhain).
Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:
Beltane Celebrations Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html
Celebrating Beltane/May Day: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html
April Update + Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html
More Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-beltane-inspiration.html
Winter-Spring Update + Beltane Round-up: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/04/winter-spring-update-beltane-round-up.html
The past few years I've done celebration idea and inspiration posts for Samhain. In 2021 I've written some round-up posts, featuring my past sabbat posts and articles from elsewhere. So here is the one for Samhain! :)
Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest festival on the Wheel of the Year. It comes after Lammas at the end of July/beginning of August and Madron/Mabon (aka the Autumn Equinox) in late September, and is a cross-quarter sabbat and a fire festival. It's considered by many to be the Witches' New Year and one of the two times of year when the veil between the worlds is thin (the other is Beltane in late April/early May). Halloween/Hallowe'en (since the name comes from All Hallow's Even, "Hallowe'en" is an alternative way of spelling it) is the modern-day counterpart. Check out the Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en post for more information.
Last Saturday (31st October) it was Samhain/Hallowe'en. I celebrated with a pumpkin and by making some food and drink. I made my usual Demon's Blood drink and some potato salad, and also baked some gingerbread skeletons.
Demon's Blood is ginger beer mixed with apple juice and orange juice, and dyed green. The recipe is from Kate West's book The Real Witches' Kitchen. And the potato salad is based on a recipe from The Kitchen Witch book by Soraya. I planned to use spring onion and chives, but couldn't get any chives.
Here's a picture of the pumpkin:
My favourite sabbat Samhain is coming up on 31st October! (My other fave is Lammas). It's on a Saturday this year. I started celebrating the sabbats in 2010, and since Hallowe'en is the modern version of Samhain, I celebrate both these days.
Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere Beltane is almost here! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:
Beltane Celebrations Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html
Celebrating Beltane/May Day: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html
April Update + Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/04/april-update-beltane-inspiration.html
More Beltane Inspiration: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2020/04/more-beltane-inspiration.html
For the past few years, I've done celebration idea posts which you can see below:
Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html
More Hallowe'en/Samhain Celebration Ideas: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html
Celebrating Samhain/Hallowe'en: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/10/celebrating-samhainhalloween.html
And last year I wrote a series of Inspiration posts for the sabbats. Here's Samhain's: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2019/10/samhainhalloween-inspiration.html
For Samhain/Hallowe'en 2020 I'm sharing more inspiration. As I've written quite a lot on Samhain in the past, I'll just give a brief background and then share some ideas for celebrating. :)
Samhain is the 3rd and final harvest sabbat on the Wheel of the Year and takes place on 31st October. Although some may celebrate from sundown on 31st Oct till sundown on 1st November. It is a cross quarter sabbat, and follows Lammas at the start of August and Madron/Mabon aka the Autumn Equinox in September. This festival is also called the Witches' New Year in some circles. As mentioned before, some people end the old year and start the new year at Samhain (I tend to think of it in this way), whereas others consider Yule/the Winter Solstice to be the start of the new cycle.
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| Came out a bit blurry but nice effect! |
It's time for Samhain! This year it's on a Wednesday (31st October). Samhain is my favourite sabbat (apart from Lammas). I also celebrate Hallowe'en, the modern version of Samhain. I celebrated Hallowe'en as a child, so I have combined celebrations these days.
Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's Beltane! Check out my Beltane Celebration posts here:
https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html
https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2018/04/celebrating-beltanemay-day.html
In the past two years I've done posts about celebrating Hallowe'en and Samhain. You can read them here:
https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html
https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/10/more-halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html
This year I'm sharing more ideas for celebrating both Samhain and Hallowe'en, so hopefully there's something to suit you if you celebrate both (like I do) or prefer one or the other. :)
Hallowe'en info
Hallowe'en (more commonly spelt Halloween, but you can also spell it as "Hallowe'en because it's a shortened version of All Hallows' Even)
is thought to have originated from Samhain. In later years 1st November
was made All Saint's Day by the Christian church, and the night before
was known as All Hallows Evening (shortened to All Hallows' Ev'en or
Eve). It's the time of year when the veil between the worlds (this world and the next, or the world beyond the one we know) thins and your loved ones may come back to visit. Also spirits are more likely to be around in general and the practice of lighting a pumpkin is thought to have originated from the
pagan ritual of lighting a candle to honour and welcome your ancestors,
and keep unwanted spirits away. (See below for more).
For more about the history of Hallowe'en you can read this article: https://www.history.co.uk/article/the-history-of-halloween
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| Trees in Sompting |
We're now moving out of autumn and into winter. Although winter doesn't "officially" begin until Yule/the Winter Solstice around 22nd December (it's the 21st this year) the seasons do run together and it's starting to feel more wintry. It's definitely gone colder, especially at night and some parts of the UK have had snow. (None in Sussex yet!). It was 9 degrees Celsius (48F) here today and at the end of the week and next weekend it's supposed to drop to 1 and 0 degrees at night. It gets a bit confusing though because 1st December is thought of as "meteorological winter" while around 21st Dec is called "astronomical winter". You can read more here: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/is-december-1-the-first-day-of-winter/
Update 3/12/21: New link here: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/1529625/when-is-first-day-winter-met-office-evg
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| This year's pumpkin. |
A year ago I started a series on posts on the sabbats. I started with Samhain which was fitting because it's one of my favourites (along with Lammas) and also it's considered the Witches' New Year. Other Samhain themes are ancestors returning since this is one of one of the two times of the year when the veil between the worlds is said to be thin (the other is Beltane), honouring your ancestors and those you've lost, and shadow work. It's also the 3rd and last harvest (after Lammas and Madron), so you can think about what you've harvested in the past year and/or season. Read last year's celebration post here: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2016/10/halloweensamhain-celebration-ideas.html
Note: If you're in the Southern Hemisphere it's Beltane so you might enjoy this post on ideas for celebrating: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2017/04/beltane-celebration-ideas.html
This year I'm posting about more Samhain celebration ideas. First of all here are a few links with information about Samhain and Hallowe'en (since they are closely linked):
Samhain- The Precursor to Halloween: https://www.stneotsmuseum.org.uk/articles/samhain-the-precursor-to-halloween/
10 Folk Beliefs about Samhain/Halloween: https://tesswhitehurst.com/10_folk_beliefs_about_samhain_halloween/
The Herbs and Astrology of Samhain: http://www.wortsandcunning.com/blog/the-herbs-and-astrology-of-samhain
