The autumn is such a beautiful time of year, the weather turning colder, but the sunlight low and warm imparting its glow onto the damp yellowing leaves.

It is a very busy time of year for me, as I have two regular events that overlap. The first is Scaresville – The Haunted Village. This is an annual scare attraction set in the grounds of Kentwell Hall, in Suffolk. An hour of interactive scares, taking you into rooms and out into the woods and pushing you to confront all sorts of characters and devices along the way.

I have the absolute pleasure of being the host at the start of the event, greeting about 1000 victims a night and sending them on to their doom. All with banging tunes, witty banter, and crazy dancing.

Once half term starts my daytimes are then filled with the sounds of children skipping around the trees, as Kentwell’s family focused Halloweenies event means I spend the days as my dryad self playing music in the magical Hornbeam Circle.

I do adore this event, the site is beautiful, the children are (almost always) wonderful, we have so many interesting philosophical conversations as well as musical ones.

Even the smallest of visitors able to play my drum, to which I will often join in on a recorder, sharing a musical conversation that tends to start like two separate people playing and then evolve into listening to each other and really playing together, even the really young ones, which often takes parents by surprise!

There are new visitors and families that have been many many years in a row, some whose tiny children have played music with me before they had legs long enough to skip around the circle, that now join in the dance. I have spent time with children that seem to never stop talking at all, and some that come in unable to make eye contact, hopefully all leaving with their hearts just a little bit fuller than when they arrived – I know mine always is.

This then requires a very quick turnaround as daytime green is removed and nighttime blue is reapplied ready for the evening’s shenanigans.

Both events are filled with a great team of performers both professional and volunteer, and are headed up by a brilliant creative production and build crew.

My next event at Kentwell Hall will be taking Christmas requests on the bagpipes for their Dickensian Christmas event. Details available on their website.