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It was Saturday night in London. I was waiting to catch the bus home with my friend Laura. I was dressed as the cartoon character the Pink Panther, complete with pink cat ears attached to a hairband, a pink tail made of a long piece of pink cloth, and whiskers(猫须)drawn on my face. Laura was dressed as a cat. It was, of course, Halloween(万圣节), and we had been at a Halloween party.
The night of October 31 is a perfect excuse to dress up in silly costumes and have a scary party. Traditionally it was“All Souls’Day”, when the ghosts of the dead rose from their graves.
In the UK, however, it also means the end of British Summer Time. All the clocks are put back one hour on the last Saturday of October. You wake up on Sunday morning thinking that it is 8 am, and then remember with relief that you actually have another hour in bed.
The trouble is, the buses had not changed their timetables. The night bus drivers were still operating according to their original(原来的)hours. However, the day bus drivers had already put their watches back, and were looking forward to that extra hour in bed. So Laura and I waited and waited and waited. People who went past stared, laughed, or made funny comments—“Someone locks the cat out of the house tonight? ”or“Who lets the cat out of the bag? ”
Finally the bus came—three hours later. By that time we had made friends with local shop owners as they opened for morning business, as well as with a friendly tramp(流浪汉)sitting on the street with his dog.
Halloween may be a party night—just don’t forget the practicalities(实际情况)when you’re in the UK. It could get really scary.
