When I lived in Edinburgh the Guisers came round, children wearing simple home-made costumes and always with burnt-cork-blackened faces. They were expected to sing or perform a 'turn' for a treat. This was donkeys' years ago, long before Hallowe'en came to England. We had 15 groups last night, of all ages. Super costumes and all of the children polite and sweet. My husband had to run down to the shop to buy more sweets as we started to run out. I always carve one or two pumpkins and light them at our door, to show we're up for a visit. I adore it, I really do. But a sour note:- a policeman came on Wednesday to our tiny village shop with a poster saying "No flour or eggs will be sold to anyone under 18 yrs of age." The shopkeeper refused to put it up, as we never ever have any silliness here with that sort of nonsense. But the copper said there'd been a lot of trouble in Norwich and surrounding districts last year. Sad really.