Pumpkin spice reaches a new extreme

"Autumn" in recent years could more accurately be called "pumpkinspice" given the ubiquity of this mysterious flavour. I'm not really sure what it's meant to be - an ersatz pumpkin pie taste, maybe? It's definitely very sweet.

And it's everywhere. Every coffee house has at least one pumpkin spice brew. There are seasonal pumpkin spice baked goods in stores. Pumpkin spice candles (don't eat those). Pretty much everything.

And now you can pumpkin spice your ride as well.

(Spotted at the Asda car wash in Cardiff Bay; photo by Cathy)

Hallowe'en Decor

Noson Calan Gaeaf Hapus / Happy Hallowe'en. 

I thought this year I would post a few pictures of the mantelpiece after Cathy arranged some themed items for our All Hallows Eve amusement. Brace yourself for some treats. (If you follow my Twitter you may already have seen these pictures.)

The little Sylvanian Families house with the cat in a ghost costume was a present from Cathy to me. I gave her the large pumpkin in the picture below for National Pumpkin Day last year. It's made by Jellycat

All hail the Pumpkin King!

With the lights out and pumpkin nightlights on, it looks very atmospheric.

The Playmobil ghost also lights up in a colour change mode. Meanwhile Sally Brown was bought on one of our American road trips. We have several other Peanuts characters dressed for Hallowe'en, but Sally is the only one to appear on the mantel this year. 

Have a splendid Hallowe'en everyone.