...too many pumpkins

When I was younger, my mom used to read me a book called Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White, about Rebecca Estelle who abhors pumpkins, until the day that a pumpkin falls off a truck and smashes in her garden, resulting in her garden becoming overrun with them when the seeds grow! 

I believe we can pinpoint this book as the source of my pumpkin obsession. It's stuck with me ever since childhood.

I grew up in Canada where Halloween was more widely celebrated than it is here in England. I have great memories of tromping through a pumpkin patch in wellingtons to find the perfect pumpkin, which at the age of five, probably was simply a pumpkin that was small and light enough for me to be able to carry on my own. Now I demand the largest, most impressive pumpkin that I can get my hands on, regardless of whether I can carry it.

Exhibit A:

To this day I get ridiculously over excited when pumpkin season rolls around, so imagine my excitement when I discovered Slindon Pumpkins in Arundel last year: a family business, and an "internationally renowned pumpkin mural extravaganza" that's been open for 52 years, selling 50 varieties of pumpkin and 30 varieties of squash.

I felt like I was in pumpkin heaven! I spent a small fortune there without regret and made some fantastic displays around my house.

However, when planning my second trip this year, imagine my devastation when I realised the business has closed until further notice due to covid19! I'm crushed, as I'm sure so many others are. It was quite the attraction.

Disloyal as it feels now to go elsewhere for pumpkins, I characterise as a "pumpkin addict", and therefore can't go without a fix this time of year. I found a very local pick-your-own farm, Pumpkin Moon in Maidstone, and visited yesterday. Needless to say I made our like a bandit with a literal wheelbarrow-load of pumpkins and gourds, for cooking and displaying respectively.

Observe the haul:

(I might go back for more!!!)

Continuing with this pumpkin mood, and for the purposes of this blog, I scrounged around my bookshelves today and found that I've retained my entire collection of Halloween books from childhood, including the infamous Too Many Pumpkins, that induced my pumpkin addiction. The covers are adorable, and inevitably have to be shared here:

Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White

Halloween Mice by Bethany Roberts

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

The Witch's Hand by Peter Utton

Little Witch's Big Night by Deborah Hautzig

I recommend all these books to adults and children alike; I don't think you're ever too old to derive joy from a picture book. However, I apologise if not all the books are available to buy in the UK. As I said, I grew up in Canada, so that is most likely where they were published.

Bonus points to the first person to tot up the amount of times the word "pumpkin" appears in this blog!

It might hinge on the ridiculous! 

Thanks for reading. Happy Pumpkin Season!

Zuzu 🖋

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