Where Zombies Fear To Tread

Zombies love to shop. Yes, they also eat brains, but it was their love of malls that earned them the finger-wag in Night of the Living Dead.
Apparently this film was a criticism of mindless consumerism, but really it was probably just the aftermath of a day spent by George A. Romero watching a lady-friend shopping for shoes.

I don't have any pictures of zombies so here's a shop-happy little lady-witch:

Is shopping really that bad? Rather than a shallow, materialistic pastime, I see it as modern day hunting-and-gathering. Gathering, mostly. Shiny berries have been replaced by shiny shoes. Or in my case, shiny cups. I love drifting around the kitchenware section, looking at casserole dishes and wondering how Laurence Llewellyn Bowen was ever allowed roam free.

Hallowe'en treats by Yum, whose Facebook page is *HERE*

What critics of shopping don't understand is the inner life of the shopper. We may appear to be shuffling along, stuffing mass-made rubbish into our baskets, but really we are using the objects around us to stretch our imagination. I look at a pot and imagine myself making a roué in it, for use in a devilled-egg and potato pie, on a cold rainy day. I look at a teapot and it is part of the kitchen I haven't yet built, in which my dogs-to-be are curled up. In general I don't actually buy anything. First, I'm not very tidy and the only way to keep in anyway on top of things is to stop adding to the chaos that is my flat. Second, I am an artist and all artists can ever afford are sketchpads and red wine (every five years the government gives you a grant to replace your secondhand velveteen smoking jacket, but that's it, I'm afraid). So I don't buy anything, but I do shop. I do all the shopping bit up to the part where you bring it up to the counter, and at that point I put it back on the shelf.

Of course, there is the whole eating-brains problem. If, coming up to Hallowe'en, you'd like to continue your shopping, but you don't want to bump into any zombies, you could always stick to markets and craft fairs. According to the B-movies, zombies never shop there. Below are some markets to get you past October 31st, after which the zombies hibernate. Although then you have to watch out for pushy little elves, and their sharp elbows.

The Last Weekend Halloween Market - 29th October 2011 - Art Gallery, Powerscourt Townhouse, Dublin 2
(why does this go first? Because it's the one I've got a stall at)
Aughrim Town & Country Market - 29th October - Aughrim, Wicklow
(why does this go second? Because it's the one my very talented baker-friend, Colette, has her aptly-named 'Yum' stall at)
Buttons and Bows Halloween Market - 23rd October 2011 - Crumlin Road, Dublin 12
The Dublin Flea Market - 30th October 2011 - Dublin Food Coop, Dublin 8
Halloween Spooktacular Craft & food Fair - 31st October 2011 - Dunboyne Castle Hotel, Meath
Halloween Market and Festival - 30th October 2011 - Castle Car Park, Trim, Co. Meath

If you are attending or know of a Halloween market let me know! And I will add it to this list.