Autumn Pumpkins Akimbo

Iris was desperate for her beloved Uncle Nigel to go with her to her Nursery Autumn Festival ………

……. let’s just say ……. he found it both magical and emotional!

Everyone had been invited to send in a decorated pumpkin which were then all lit up and put in the courtyard and along the paths in The Meadow where the children play and learn about nature.

Our effort was a very simple affair, however having seen how high the bar had been set by others, next year, when Bertie will have also started nursery, Nigel said he was determined to try to give a better account of our carving skills!!!

Iris and Nigel walked hand in hand as they made sure they looked at every single pumpkin that had been laid out, as well as spotting all the creatures that had been hidden in the trees.

There were also lots of stalls to test your guessing skills, like guessing the weight of the mahooooooosively gigantic pumpkin, which Tom the Scientist tried to calculate using a scientific formula involving area, incapacity, volume, velocity and a Venn diagram!

It all sounded rather complicated to Nigel so when it came to the conkers in the cauldron and pine cones in the barrel, he just put the first number that came into his head and pretended not to hear Tom the Scientist tut at his randomness.

There were also popcorn, hot dogs, pumpkin soup, face painting and biscuits to decorate. Sadly Bertie’s biscuit didn’t get as much as a sniff of icing or sprinkles as he was more intent on just eating it, unadorned, but Iris spent a long time carefully decorating hers as Nigel stood on, proudly watching.

Nigel also purchased a strip or two of raffle tickets as there were some VERY ample hampers of fruit and vegetables to be won, sadly on this occasion Lady Luck wasn’t looking down on him, but she did shine on Tom and the Lovely Laura …….

……… from which Nigel graciously accepted first pick on a cauliflower, giant red onion, cabbage, broccoli and a loaf of posh bread ……  well, it would have looked rude not to.

It was a lovely, lovely evening, ending with fish and chips when everyone got home …….. but it did however leave Nigel with one pressing question ………

……. what was the name of this strange vegetable Nigel spotted decorating one of the window ledges …….. we’ve certainly never partaken of it even on of our rigorous 5 a day regime ……..

…… and it could make an interesting addition ……….. should we be able to obtain one or two!  Mr D any educated suggestions from Mexico?????