• Gillingham, October 2009

    Spooky Goings-on at Orchard Park Garden Centre Gillingham, Dorset

    Spooky Halloween Punkie Lantern

    This year’s mangold-growing contest and hurling event at Orchard Park Garden Centre, Gillingham, Dorset was held on Halloween, so what better time to revive the old Somerset tradition of Punkie Night? (The answer is 29th October, because Punkie Night is on the last Thursday of the month.)

    The origins of Punkie (or Punky) night are uncertain, but it has been a tradition in parts of Somerset for as long as anyone can remember. It involves making jack o’lanterns from carved mangolds, similar to the American tradition of carving pumpkins. Children sometimes carry them around and demand money with menaces, again similar to the American tradition of trick or treat.

    Yellow Mangold Punkie
    Red Mangold Punkie

    The Punkie lanterns above were made specially for this year’s event, using a yellow mangold (left) and a red mangold (right).

    The Weigh-in and Prizegiving

    Entries were down on last year because of the world recession, but the winning mangold in the senior class weighed in at an impressive 7.5Kg.

    Junior winner 2009
    Richard Cumming presents the prize for the Junior category, in the glare of the Gillingham paparazzi’s flashbulbs.
    Most interestingly shaped mangold winner
    The winner of the Most Interestingly-Shaped Mangold category gleefully displays his certificate. His mangold was interesting bordering on hideous.
    Mangolds resembling human heads
    A display of mangolds, one looking like a face

    Above: an uncomfortably high proportion of the mangolds entered this year seemed to resemble human heads.