Jack O'Lantorch

 For today's countdown to Halloween, I wanted to blog about a very useful item for trick or treat: a torch. I bought this one at Sainsbury's. It has a friendly looking Jack O'Lantern on top, that lights up when you press on. It also gives a spooky howling sound. We had a similar one a few years ago, but it did not make any light anymore, so I bought this one. I affectionately call it Jack O'Lantorch. It will make us see (and seen) (and heard) (yes, I know, lots of brackets, it's intentional) when Wolfie and I walk in darker paths on Halloween night for trick or treat.

The Snail Torch

 My readers may know that I am a surprisingly loyal customer of Mountain Warehouse.I generally buy warm clothes there. But I also buy other things. Last time, I bought this cheap snail torch, because for some reason Wolfie seemed to like it. He gave me his usual Wolfism when he wants to buy something I don't think he needs (although it's usually a plush toy): "Oh but daddy, but daddy, I already gave him a name!" I gave it to him for three reasons: 1)because it was cheap, 2)because his pleading was cute and 3)because we can never have enough torches. At least when he needs one for his blanket fort, he will not use any of mine and waste their battery. And what is the name of the snail torch, you may ask? Honestly, I cannot remember.

Torch/Tuque

I blogged before about these Light Hat Torch. I bought one before for my wife, a pink one which she seldom uses. I found one in the neighbourhood, in a sorry state. I called them a torch tuque, because tuque is how we call beanie hats in Québec. Now last Christmas my wife decided to buy me one. I am not sure why. Maybe because I said we always need good torches (I seem to be using them faster than umbrellas), maybe because I like to keep my head warm, but anyway, she bought me one. It has a charger as well for the battery, pretty neat. Now, it does not look so good when you wear it, in fact it looks a bit silly, but it is oh so practical when you need to see and you want your hands free. So yes, great I love it, the great useful present this year.

Mysterious torch/tuque

We saw this in our street, on the ground. It is a Light Hat Torch. The hat part, the English call it a beanie hat. In Québec, it is a tuque, which sounds way better and somehow fits better. I bought one to my wife a few years ago, as a Christmas present, but it is not this one: my wife's one is pink. This one seems warm enough, but my wife's tuque-torch (or torch-tuque) is a bit on the thin side. I quite like the charcoal grey colour of the lost tuque. It would look if it wasn't so dirty. The torch bit is really useful: it gives a lot of light and it is easy to operate. Moral of the story: this is a real loss for whoever lost it.

The torch as a weapon

I am a big fanof having torches in the house. So much so that I asked for torches as a present not once but twice, once for my birthday and a second time for Christmas, when my birthday torch went the way of the dodo. I will buy more, just in case. But musing and pondering about torches, I thought of another use for them, inspired by a comment on this post (thank you Alison): they can also be used as a defensive weapon, if they have the right size and weight. When you walk at night, that could be an asset. I should have thought about it, given that I learned Krav Maga. You can also blind a potential attacker with the light. Anyway, my torches are too small to be proper blunt weapons, so I might buy bigger ones in the future. We are never too careful.

Essential torches

 I blogged back in January about the two torches my wife bought me for Christmas, to replace my old one that had broken now. I said how useful torches are, essential even. Well, yesterday I was reminded of another way a torch can be useful: when you walk out at night, especially when you are alone. My wife went to celebrate the birthday of a friend and our neighbourhood does not have very good street lights. So she borrowed one of my torches. She felt much safer and I felt reassured. I always carry a torch when I am out and about and I know I will have to walk back home at night time. I think you should never leave without one.

Of the usefulness of torches

You may remember that back in 2021, I received a torch as a birthday present. It is actually something I had asked for a number of reasons. I really loved the torch my wife bought me, it turned out to be one of the coolest and most useful presents I had in recent years. But near the end of 2022, for some mysterious reason, the torch completely fell apart: the button could not be pressed and it stopped working. Maybe because I had used it so much. It turned out that I had become dependent on my torch: I used it in the to take the bins out when it got late, I kept it on me when I had to walk at night, or even in the house to find something in a dark cupboard. It is crazy how useful a torch is, once you get used to it. So I asked for another torch as a Christmas present. My wife bought me two. The same model as the one before. I hope they lasts longer.

My new torch

So as you may remember, I thought last month that a torch would make for a great birthday present. I thought it would make for a very useful tool, since the ones we have are cheap and haven't lasted long I do remember fondly the flashlights we had when I was a child, which we often used as a toy for our games. It could be a lightsaber, a ray gun, a generator of special effects or simply a... torch. Well anyway, my wife thought it was going to be something that makes me happy and probably useful, so she killed two birds with one stone and bought me this one. It's a really cool torch and it works really well. It's small, compact, it has various lighting options and I think it looks darn cool, sleek and elegant. It might come at no surprise that Wolfie loves it too and always finds excuses to ask daddy to use it.

A torch as a birthday present?

My birthday is coming next month and, as I have sarted preparing it, among other things giving my wife a few present suggestions. Not that I am hard to please: nothing is easier than buy gifts for me, I am a man of many interests and ideas. But she asked me anyway, so I gave a few suggestions among them a... flashlight. Or, as we call it in the UK, a torch. Why did I think of that? I am not sure. Mainly because it is quite a practical tool to have. My parents-in-law bought me a torch as a birthday present back in 2008 and I used to really like it (I even blogged about it) and I used it a lot, until it went kaput. Then I remember old black torches that my grandparents and parents had when I was a kid. I used to love them too, because they looked good and I liked to lay with them. I guess I just thought it could come in handy to have a good quality torch like these old ones.

The Howling Torch

For today's countdown to Halloween's post, I am blogging about what is probably Wolfie's favourite Halloween toy. It is a sort of torch, or dynamo, which when you press it has a jack o'lantern that spins around emitting little flashing lights. Not enough to lit much, but anyway. It also has a scream that sounds a bit like a half plaintive, half menacing howl, as if the jack was warning you of his presence. I bought this torch at Morrissons (I think) and Wolfie adopted it as one of these fun toys that parents find extremely annoying. Unfortunately the globe already broke a bit and the lights don't work all the time. But he still likes to use it to scare his mother.

Lampe de poche

Ce billet est d'une vacuité gargantuesque. Je voulais simplement mentionner (et immortaliser sur mon blogue) l'existence de la lampe de poche cadeau de mes beaux-parents, que j'utilise autant que possible. Un petit gadget fort sympathique: la batterie se recharge grâce à un dynamo intégré. Je sais, il ne me faut pas grand-chose pour être heureux.