IT WILL not have escaped your notice that tomorrow is Halloween.

Do you look at the garish shop displays and wonder how we became so steeped in ghosts, spooks, devils and pumpkin soup?

It’s probably now more familiar to children than Bonfire Night, partly because grown-ups also like to dress up and post ‘selfies’ (grrr) on Facebook.

Halloween parties require costumes and make-up, decorations, special games and party ware. Research must be done into drinks like Vampire’s Kiss and Bat’s Blood. Spooky chocolate cakes have to be cooked.

I hear the kerching of many tills.

Bonfire Night is easier on the budget. Bits of old wood for a fire, and simple food – soup, sausages and jacket potatoes – are all that’s needed. The Guy can be old clothes stuffed with leaves and newspapers.

Fireworks don’t have to be costly, noisy bangy things. Most young children are entranced by sparklers, which they can wave about like wands or light sabres.

Some condemn Halloween hoo-ha because it’s gruesome and dabbles in the supernatural, but November 5 has gory connotations too. If we analyse our mock executions of Guido Fawkes, they are very unsavoury, but it’s part of this country’s history and – thank goodness – we don’t burn people at the stake any more.

I first remember seeing Halloween celebrated in the Spielberg film ET. It was quaint, slightly irritating – and very American. We could never have thought, rather like morbid obesity, it would catch on here.

Joking apart, if we’re going to meddle with gunpowder in the next few days, we must take it seriously, so here’s a reminder of the firework code – www.saferfireworks.com/firework_code/ .

n STILL on health and safety, we often think that legislation goes over the top, but I was alarmed recently when staying in a rabbit warren of a hotel to find the window could be opened only partly.

My worry is, how do they pass the fire regulations?

This may be to deter suicides or prevent burglaries. I’ll take that risk, thank you.

If there had been a blaze in the corridor, my only escape was through the window. I’d have been scuppered.

Needless to say I was awake half the night sniffing for smoke…