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Just another reason why I hate the season of ghosties and goulies. There was a time when Halloween was one of those poor emaciated holidays when a straggle of kids would ring on the door and tell the restive householder that indeed Halloween was coming and their efforts would be rewarded with a handful of sweets and that was that ... But not anymore. Just like Valentine's Day and Mother's and Father's Day, Halloween is becoming a holiday when we are forced to do our civic and patriotic duty and spend a fortune to keep the retail sector going. But like Valentine's Day, you're no longer talking about one day. Oh no, for about a fortnight beforehand, your street sounds like a cheap recreation of the Battle of Somme as bangers ruin the silence and scare the cats and dogs. Nowadays, you're some kind of miseryguts if you don't have a luminous skeleton or at the very least an electric pumpkin in your window. Don't be surprised if a friend throws a Halloween party and you're expected to trot off to the party costume shop to spend £30 on badly-fitting nylon. Or you have to throw an E-number filled bash for the little dahlings. Or you find your letterbox is stuffed with some council-sponsored holiday programmes ... Even worse is the growing Americanisation of what used to be a sweet little pagan holiday. Shiny faced kids in professionally made Spiderman costumes now come to your door demanding 'Trick or Treat?' Trick or Treat? What happened to a wee ditty about the goose, the penny and your old man's hat? Where do they think they are? Seattle? Memphis? Albuquerque. Yeah, I know it's a bit early but I can't resist ... Bah! 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Court rejects double killer appeal Emailed Commented Video Teletoons by Stevie Lee Teletoons by Stevie Lee Follow us on Twitter IFRAME: http://www.facebook.com/plugins/likebox.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.face book.com%2Fbelfasttelegraph&width=303&colorscheme=light&connections=10 &stream=false&header=false&height=230 Horoscopes * Aries Aries * Taurus Taurus * Gemini Gemini * Cancer Cancer * Leo Leo * Virgo Virgo * Libra Libra * Scorpio Scorpio * Sagittarius Sagitarius * Capricorn Capricorn * Aquarius Aquarius * Pisces Pisces Out & About: Little Wing Out & About: Little Wing Columnist Comments alf_mccreary o For sake of the children, we need a new mindset One disturbing aspect of the violent protests over the Union flag issue is the involvement of children and young people in the riots. robert_fisk o Fear and savagery of 1979 Iran are brought to life by Argo movie In the months that followed the 1979 Iranian Revolution, I would approach the departure gate at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport with fear. I had nothing to be frightened of; I was a bona fide newspaper journalist travelling in and out of Tehran. jane_graham o Hotelier Mark's snobbery fills me with reservations As someone with a ravenous curiosity about other folks' lives, I've spent decades trying to work out the best way to spy on as many people as possible. readers_editor o Not changing law would have added insult to injury Have at thee! The mighty Lord Blackadder has vanquished his enemies, put them to the sword and generally scattered the varlets all over the battlefield. robert_fisk o Algeria: The slaughter of good and bad was utterly predictable The Algerian army, we were told by the usual suspects yesterday afternoon - on French television as well as in America - "are not soft on terrorists" and had "expertise" in "fighting terrorism". Belfast Telegraph Quizzes ad This sites uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. See our cookie settings for more information. 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