One very important part of the Halloween process is the annual pilgrimage taking 'Henry' our prop chicken from his regular roosting spot under my stairs in Hampstead to his other home in the shed at The Flask, Highgate where he lives for the duration of our Highgate to Hampstead Halloween Pub Tour Incase you were wondering what a chicken has to do with Halloween Henry plays the role of a phantom chicken who is believed to have haunted near by Pond square since the 17th Century. Henry has been causing chaos in Pond square since 2017 originally he had a detachable wire tail that we would tie sparklers into and set alight, but unfortunately he fell foul (terrible pun intended) of the Pond Square residents committee, and after a bit of negotiation they agreed that while he could continue to haunt pond square over the Halloween period there must be no pyrotechnics involved. 'How are we going to make him a spectacle if we can't sent him on fire?' I wondered, then suddenly it dawned on me: This is halloween season of gore - I'm going to have to kill him! So poor Henry was beheaded - As quickly as possible so hopefully he didn't suffer too much! and after a few more alterations he was once again ready to get on the tube to make his annual journey to Highgate As we trundled up the road towards Hampstead tube station I did notice that Henry attracted more favourable attention when he head was still attached but even so he wasn't without his admirer's and plenty of people were kind enough to help me negotiate the steps and escalators once we got on the underground. Everything was going well it seemed until about 2 minutes after we got out at Highgate when the heavens opened!! As I'm sure you're aware rain and paper mache don't mix very well! - Anyone around Highgate village about 3pm this afternoon might have seen a very angry looking woman attempting to run up Southwood Lane dragging an oversized dead chicken on a very heavy set of wheels... Fortunately we made it in one piece and the lovey guys in the Flask helped to calm my nerves with a much needed drink. I'm please to say that Henry now installed in his new home and ready for action! To meet Henry and the rest of the Haunted Pub Tour crew click the button below for booking info.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
peculiar londonInteresting bits of London history and news of our tours and events Categories |