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Two consecutive evenings spent being entertained quayside - something tells me that the Wivenhoe social scene has an outdoor element to it. And so the evening after the amazing Sailing Club fireworks, Halloween in Wivenhoe delivered the Revolutionary Cycle Powered Cinema down to the front for a showing of Ghostbusters.

Given the damp weather conditions, this was a huge gamble taken by the lovely folk of Transition Town Wivenhoe. With little space left to either stand or sit as the opening credits rolled, the community initiative clearly paid off.

The walk down to the Quay early evening was an eye opener in itself. Many houses not only had Halloween lanterns proudly lit on display, but there seemed to be some sort of unofficial Best Carved Lantern competition taking place.

Credit must go to the bonkers (but brilliant) sausage dog pumpkin down towards the bottom of Park Road. The covert signal is that of a lit lantern leads to local kids trick or treating. I admit to deliberately leaving my little fella back behind closed doors. Given the artistic element of the gurning pumpkin, perhaps this wasn’t a bad thing.

But anyway - what about Ghostbusters?

The smell of roasting chestnuts wafted around the Quay, and I was tempted by the toffee apples on sale. Lanterns once again were everywhere. The film screen was hanging from the front of the Nottage, with that familiar Ghostbusters theme just starting up as we walked down Anchor Hill.

With Ray Parker Jnr fading out, all that you could then hear was the film dialogue and a faint hum of the bicycle-powered projector. It looked like relatively easy work peddling away. I was going to volunteer my services, but given the flask of red wine by my side, I thought I wouldn’t risk my drink ‘n drive rule.

Adding to the eerie atmosphere was the Colne mist slowly rolling upstream. Some headlights from that other lot over at Rowhedge tried to break through, but with little joy. That’s what you get from being on the wrong side of the tracks.

I missed out on Ghostbusters back in the day. As a fifteen year-old growing up in Nottingham, I had better things to do with my time than sit in a grotty cinema on a Saturday afternoon. The twenty-five year wait was clearly worth it. Although not entirely my genre of film of choice, the quayside setting certainly added to the laboured dialogue.

As the plot plodded along, trick or treat refugees rolled up quayside. It was the Night of the Living Dead in Wivenhoe - either that or chucking out time at The Greyhound.

Ah, speaking of which, we rather predictably retired to The Greyhound, and walked in on an Evening of Gothic and Ghostly Tales, hosted by the ace Martin Newell. Silence fell upon the main bar for once, as a packed floor assembled to hear the Pop Genius of this Parish read out a selection of Halloween themed poetry.

So yeah - an outdoor cinema in deepest autumn, and then a boozer than can accommodate Edgar Allan Poe readings. Just another Halloween in Wivenhoe…

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