Trick or treat? (TT column 04.11.13)

It creeps up on me too quickly every year, although not literally as we live in the middle of nowhere. I think any trick or treaters would be scared themselves before even reaching our house, but it does save on the treats. As a child I saw it as one disadvantage for living on Dartmoor, I never experienced a true Halloween. I've been told it's not the done thing at my age, so the clock is now ticking until my niece is old enough to accompany me, or is that the other way around? It did seem that the local council were getting into the spirit last week although I presume it wasn't intentional; the lights in the Tavistock to Yelverton cycle path tunnel were turned off during day, I could honestly not see a thing, I'm hoping now that Halloween has passed they have resumed normal service.

This time of year often gets confusing, or maybe that is just me? It seems that fancy dress and fireworks overlap for several weeks. One thing that is for certain, it is now dark. I know we lost an hour with the clock change but somehow it seems that we've lost several hours in the evenings. I had been in denial until heading out onto Dartmoor for a fun afternoon with my mountain bike; in the rain, mud and dark I was struggling to cling onto that "fun" element.

The Halloween and Guy Fawkes celebrations have passed, the evenings are now dark and the temperatures are dropping, what do we look forward to now? Don't worry I will not mention that 'C' word just yet.