Tuesday 27 October 2015

Mirror, mirror on the wall ...





Sepia and family history are distinctly lacking in my post this week, but just for fun here are a few family photos prompted by the image in the card. I thought firstly of the following shots I remembered of one of our boys in about 1990, sleuthing around the house looking for who knows what. I don't think he was dressed up for Halłoween, but he does look a bit like the gentleman in the mirror.
Then here is our older daughter a few years later in 1995, looking very grown up as she makes herself beautiful in front of her bedroom mirror, getting ready for her Year 10 formal.





Halloween wasn't much celebrated when our children were small. Jumping back 10 years from 1995, here is a photograph of this good witch cake that I made once, not for Halloween but for the above daughter's 5th birthday in February 1985, when we took her and seven young friends to watch a play entitled "Ballads and Bushy Tales", written by Audrey Blaxland and and performed by the local Marian Street Theatre for Young People, of which Ms Blaxland was the founder.  Amazingly I've even noted the names of all the party guests in my photo album. The play sounds typically Australian, nothing to do with witches, although it might have involved a mythical creature or two, such as a bunyip perhaps. If you don't know what a bunyip is, you can see a statue of one here in an earlier blog of mine. There could be a few of them lurking about on Halloween night. Our other daughter actually lives near a town called Bunyip, but I don't think there are any out there.




Halloween has become more widely recognised here in recent years thanks to commercial influence, but it's not part of the Australian culture and is still not celebrated by the majority of Australians. In our local area these days groups of children do dress up and go out wandering, with the younger ones accompanied by parents hovering in the background. If we are happy to welcome them, we can put a pumpkin or similar symbol on the gate, but if not we won't be bothered by them. Here in Victoria an 'unofficial' long weekend is coming up, as we get a holiday on the following Tuesday for running of the Melbourne Cup, commonly known as 'the race that stops a nation', and always held on the first Tuesday in November. People who aren't interested in dressing up for either racing or Halloween often take the Monday off and go away somewhere for a short break. We won't be taking the day off this year, but on Saturday we may drive out to a folk festival that is held annually in the town of Maldon.

Finally, here's a photo taken by our first daughter, showing her little Londoner last year, dressed up in a cat costume and surrounded by pumpkins for a Halloween party organised by her mother and friends. Their babies all looked very cute in their outfits but must have wondered what on earth it was all about! We are greatly looking forward to seeing Isabelle and family down here for her uncle the sleuth's wedding very soon now.  I guess he eventually found what he was looking for, and we will definitely all be dressed up for that happy occasion! 





Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it, and to any Australians and others interested in horse racing, good luck in the Melbourne Cup!

For more memories and reflections about Halloween, sleuths, mirrors, beautiful girls etc, go to 

Postscript: one year later and here's our little Londoner again, getting ready for her nursery Halloween party a couple of days ago. 

                                                  


19 comments:

La Nightingail said...

Neat post! Those first pix of your son sleuthing around fit the theme perfectly! And your daughter is lovely. And great witch cake! I used to do stuff like that when the kids were little. Now I just go out & buy an ice cream cake at Baskin Robbins!

diane b said...

Love the sleuth pics and your daughter growing beautiful as well as cutie with the pumpkins.. Sounds like some excitement coming up in your family.

Kristin said...

Your son does look like the prompt man, but only in dress! He was a real cutie, not so the man in the mirror :)

Little Nell said...

Well done with these photos all linked together nicely too. It’s so difficut to photograph a reflection without appearing in it yourself. Your daughter looks lovely.

Wendy said...

The picture of your son sleuthing about reminds me of a photo of my daughter dressed as a detective. She was attending a little summer camp in which the theme was mystery-solving. I enjoyed reading about how Australians celebrate/not Halloween.

Wendy said...

Aw - who wouldn't love that little costume?

Unknown said...

I love the kids dressed up for Halloween.

Boobook said...

Isabelle plus pumpkins is too cute. There are special Halloween pumpkins on sale in our supermarket but I haven't seen anyone buying them.

Anonymous said...

He sure is one mean looking little detective. I have a feeling he might still enjoy hamming it up at times.

Alan Burnett said...

Some lovely photos. I suspect we do far too little dressing up in our lives. I feel a fancy dress party coming on.

ScotSue said...

What an enchanting set of photographs. I had to smile at your sleuthing son, - it brought back memories of my young brother with a detective set he got one Christmas. Your daughter looked lovely and the little ones so cute.

Unknown said...

Good job on all those mirror shots! (And what attractive children you have....) A "bunyip," eh? Looks kinda like Clark Gable...

Jackie McGuinness said...

Great mirror shots!! As Canadians we do celebrate Halloween, but since we downsized to a condo a couple of years ago we don't bother as we don't get any trick or treaters.

Anonymous said...

My youngest daughter loved playing detective - even getting some "spy" glasses that have a mirror attached so you can see the person behind you without being detected. :) I enjoyed your photos and you cute kids and granddaughter!

anyjazz said...

The little tyke with the pumpkin is a fine shot.

Postcardy said...

I love your witch cake. It would be great for Halloween if you changed the colors.

Jofeath said...

I've since found some 1989 Halloween photos of my own kids, dressed up as wizards, and maybe the cake also looks more like a wizard than a witch, but I'll save them up for next year now.

Mike Brubaker said...

Too cute! The pumpkin photo is a prizewinner.

Dara said...

Great pictures, Jo. I do love your cake!