Final fling for carved pumpkins
Pumpkins were given their final fling at the weekend when the Halloween fun continued for families in Ellesmere.
Visitors to the recreation field on Birch Road in the town enjoyed the fifth outing of an unusual object – a recreated trebuchet, or siege engine. In the Middle Ages such items of war were used to catapult boulders and burning pitch over high castle battlement. This reconstruction was used to fling cast-off pumpkins at a variety of targets.
Over 150 visitors joined Ellemere’s community arts group Fizzgigs in what visitor Nicky Stinton from Petton called ‘a lovely thing to do, with a real community spirit’. Peter Cartlidge, Fizzgigs member, designed and made this trebuchet, dubbed The Death Dealer by master of ceremonies, Mike Ford.
Visitors named their Halloween lanterns and then saw them flung into the skies in a competition to see whose pumpkin could travel the furthest. There were families from as far as Northwich and Chester as well as from Ellesmere and surrounding villages.
Some pumpkins broke into pieces in the air, some achieved great heights before thudding to the ground.
More than 40 pumpkins of a range of weights and sizes were flung through the afternoon.
As ever, names were inventive, with the likes of Harry Potter, Green Goddess, Bumpkin and Bingo.
The record for this year was reached by ‘Steve’, weighing in at only one kilo. It reached 79metres but the record across all years still stands at 100 metres.
Kate Westgate of Fizzgigs said: "It was lovely to see so many children enjoying a fun and free afternoon, joining in with the oohs and aahs as the pumpkins took to the skies."
All pumpkin flesh and unflung Halloween lanterns were collected from the field and taken for composting. Details of all Fizzgigs activities can be found online at fizzgigs.co.uk.
