Halloween!

Halloween is not big in England, basically just a chance for adults to dress in a costume and go to a party. No trick-or-treating going on (I'm told they do it in Ireland, but the rest of the UK, not so much).

Our friend, Nixi, is part of a group of parents who volunteer to offer candy to trick-or-treaters.  So off we went to Highgate (Hiroko was under the weather, so it was just the two guys), Kai dressed as a Roman soldier - he made the costume for history class at school, and we recycled it for Halloween.  The tube ride was an interesting sociological experiment - his costume got lots of sweet smiles from several young women, but the men stoically pretended not to notice anything out of the ordinary (this being Britain after all).

After that we went to a party at Nixi's apartment, which abuts a school grounds.  They school had piled high a stack of brush for burning after caretaking the grounds, and Nixi had permission to light it up on Oct. 31.  Awesome to wrap up Halloween with a bonfire!

A Roman legionnaire on the tube, heading for Highgate

Changing trains - the shield really made the costume, but Dad ended up carrying it most of the night...

Trick-or-treating in Highgate

The wrap-up: eating a hot dog and feeling pagan. It was a great Halloween!