This month - October 2011

Leaves are dropping from the trees, the nights are getting dark and there is a chill in the air. Must mean we are right in the heart of autumn and that Halloween is not too far away. I had a "discussion" with an American friend the other day over the origin of Halloween. They insisted that it was started by her US ancestors and that we had all copied them. Even pulling out a Wikipedia page failed to fully convince her and when I started to explain that in the old days we'd spend hours trying to carve faces in turnips rather than pumpkins I lost her completely.

Anyway as you will all know Halloween is a traditional Scottish event from the phrase All Hallows Eve to mark the end of the summer as celebrated as the night he ghouls and ghosts walk the earth and terrify us all.

So what does this scary time have in store for us to enjoy in the run up to the witching hour? Please add anything we've missed in the comments below.

Scottish Opera are hitting the Southside with highlights of Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" at Cookie (7-8pm Tuesday 18 October ) and the return of Chef Wars on the last Sunday of the month with 3 amateur chefs battling out for your culinary votes. (30 October time tbc)

Listen in - Lights out at the GoSlow Cafe, Victoria Road in association with South Seed. Tickets are £5 with costume and £7 without. Food is available but its BYOB with a little £1 corkage. (29 October 7-10:30pm)

Two interesting art exhibitions, one at GoSlow by one of our recent Southside Happenings Creative Thursday interviewees Yvonne McClement with her show "Ottocats", some brilliant collage work of animal heads and portrait paintings. The other show is by local architects/ artists Hole in my Pocket with an exhibition entitled HIMPTOLOGY which was first shown at The Arches in Glasgow in 2010 and which reflects on ideas of belief and belonging through prints, drawings and film. Both shows on all month.

The Old Barn in Pollok Park needs help, they have been collecting books to send to disadvantaged schools in South Africa and need help to classify them. If you can lend a spare bit of time then drop in and check out the cool space. (Sunday 16 October 10-5pm) There is also a Charity Books sale the next week to raise funds (23 October 11-3pm)

For the kids there is the annual Halloween Spectacular at the Glasgow Science Centre which always gets rave reviews (28 October 6:30pm) and the Halloween themed Family Day at the Tramway with Monsters in the City, a tunnel of ghosts and ghouls and mexican sugar skulls. (30 October).

Southside Six is a new annual race through six of the Southside Parks starting from the flagpole in Queens park before heading through King's, Linn, Rouken Glen, Pollok, Bellahouston and then back to Queens Park, about 26km in total. Unfortunately for budding runners all spaces are now full but I'm sure they'd welcome people cheering them on their way as they pass through the parks. (Sunday 30 October 11am start in Queens Park)

Our favourite upcoming event of the month though is the return of the brilliant Southside Film Festival with two spooky Halloween offerings The Cabinet of Dr Caligari with Live Wurlitzer cinema organ at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall (Sunday 16 October 7pm) and Night of the Living Dead at the Shed preceded by a Zombie walk. (Sunday 30 October 8pm) Tickets on sale at Young's Interesting Books.