Halloween is the day wizards and witches were imagined coming out on the eve of All Hallows, the old name for the Christian festival of All Saints.

More recently, businesses saw the chance to sell costumes and greeting cards.

Now we have sweets for "trick or treat", but children and parents should stick to factory-wrapped gifts to avoid maliciously contaminated loose sweets!

November 1, All Saints' Day, is a traditional day in France for family and friends to visit the graves of departed loved ones.

The siblings of a French lady, buried in England, would often come to visit.

November is a month for remembering the dead; its gloomy weather is more appropriate for mourning than celebration.

It is a time for preparing for winter shortages; Christmas puddings were created to preserve fruit.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget is expected to add a further chill to a cold and gloomy month, with increasing fuel costs leaving some people cut off.

Those of us confident of paying bills promptly should be concerned and support those needing help.

However, electricity can be cut off for other reasons.

Russian attacks on Ukraine often cause routine power cuts and severe shortages.

Meanwhile, winter snow and ice in North America leave huge areas in darkness for days or longer as power lines come down, and Climate Change makes the weather rougher than ever.

On November 5, we celebrate that Guy Fawkes failed to blow up Parliament in 1605, though historians now think this was a frame-up.

On the same day, the USA will elect a new President, which may also be regarded as a frame-up depending on who wins and whose reports are believed, fireworks are guaranteed!

Keeping warm is essential, but a well-fed person is a small heater - the trick is to stop the heat from escaping!

An arctic igloo keeps out extreme cold because snow is a good insulator.

The inside is freezing, so Inuit people wear enough clothes to be comfortable at zero centigrade.

A snowstorm in Scandinavia taught me this some years ago.

When it started snowing, I stopped the car and transferred warm clothing and food from the boot to the back seat, an American Midwest habit.

Later, when blinded by driving snow and stuck in a snowdrift, I put on layers of clothes and turned the engine off.

More people die from carbon monoxide from idling engines than from being frozen.

Rescuers came in a tracked vehicle 12 hours later, by which time the windscreen had a thick coating of ice inside.

Electricity is part of our lives.

Modern society has become very dependent on its infrastructure; and we all need to learn how to adapt.

The worst calamity when electricity fails may be the loss of digital telephones, internet and TV - even modern keyboard music is electronic!

Wrap up well this winter, enjoy conversation or musical evenings without TV if necessary, especially watch out for people really struggling without enough warm clothing or heat.

Halloween and political leaders will pass.

The coming festivities of Christmas will soon be remembered in photographs and unpaid bills.

With so much mayhem everywhere in the world, we should count our blessings and give each other support in the peace and freedom that our community is built on.

"We the people" need to look after each other this November, all winter and well beyond.