Justin & Colin's Big

Justin & Colin's Big Gay Hallowe'en!; Throwing a Hallowe'en party?
Sunday Herald, The, Oct 31, 2004 by Compiled by Ali Howard Interview by Peter Ross


JUSTIN: "Colin and I go to town for Hallowe'en parties. This year we are having 25 friends round to our Glasgow house as part of a new show we are doing called Don't Drop The Baby, which is a five-day observation of us and an animatronic baby which is remotely controlled and has poo, vomit and cry buttons. We are having a huge party and we are going to theme it black and orange."

COLIN: "Those are very traditional Hallowe'en colours but I think it's okay to stick with them. It's a good strong theme that everyone recognises. It's possible to be too tasteful, but why not have a bit of humour and fun in there for your guests?"

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JUSTIN: "We've just bought two incredible sofas from the new Linda Reid show. They are dark slubby gentleman's grey. We are going to dress them with luscious textural black knitted throws and spangly gorgeous angora cushions in bright orange. We got some from the Conran store and some from Linda Reid. Ikea have got some fantastic products at the moment. They do these great black cushions."

COLIN: "As well as getting the look right, it's important to get the taste and flavour of the evening right. So we are doing mulled wine. We are going to make a really good pumpkin soup and serve it in tiny glasses, so it is like shots. It's a nice little hors d'oevre and will look great."

JUSTIN: "As Colin says, it's good to run with the traditional theme, but we have turned it on its head a little bit. Our waitresses will be dressed as sexy witches. Our witches are wearing spangly orange and black accessories - black witch's hat, black shoes. Their faces will be covered and they will be wearing a short pinafore witch's outfit with black tights. We have taken orange wool and hemmed it down the sides of the tights and made little orange bows on the back of black stilletoes. They are going to have brooms, which we will paint black with orange tips as if they are on fire."

COLIN: "If you're having a party, it's good to set the tone, and candlelight is great for that. It makes it moody and will make people want to tell ghost stories, especially when they've had a few."

JUSTIN: "The best candles in the world, without a shadow of a doubt, are from The Pier. They are just stonkingly good. They've got them in orange and all these great colours and scents."

COLIN: "We usually have scary movies playing as well. I think one of the scariest films is Hallowe'en. Even the daylight scenes are scary."

JUSTIN: "With any party, we try to go for a multi-sensory approach. It shouldn't just look great, it should smell good as well. So, continuing the orange theme, we bake oranges and stud them with cloves.

COLIN: When it comes to food, keep it easy. As host of the party, you should enjoy it as much as your guests. We've got a friend, Grace Drummond, who runs a Glasgow-based company Grace'n'Flavour and she does a funky take on canapes."

JUSTIN: "I like theming, but I don't like gimmicks, so no rubber bats hanging from the ceiling. You're more likely to find big hollowed-out pumpkins with gorgeous lights inside. We might have a turnip lantern for the traditionalists."

COLIN: "Maybe say no to rubber bats but yes to a big bowl of skullcrushers - you know those white chocolate sweeties with red goo in them?"

JUSTIN: "If you've got a fire, light those coals, chuck in the embers, and get it burning up for a lovely mood. We do indoor fireworks, but make sure they are made by good manufacturers. There is no flame involved, but there is a propulsion mechanism at the bottom with a small amount of dynamite."

COLIN: "If you have a garden, you can light a little bonfire and string your garden with fairy lights. I think Au Naturale have got little orange paper lanterns. You can take a black pen and draw teeth and eyes on them. Or use the white ones, and make them into ghosts. You want to get the kids involved it's all very well to go to the shops and buy everything, but it should be creative and fun."

JUSTIN: "We aren't asking our guests to come in costume because that puts too much pressure on people. We have learned how dreadfully wrong it can go. A friend of ours, Lowry Turner, got married several years ago, and the invite said the theme was oriental or black tie. So we decided to make a big statement, and got dolled up as Fu Manchu and the Widow Twanky. We walked in and the whole place went silent. Everyone else had worn a wing collar or little oriental brooch and that was it; we had come as two pantomime dames."

COLIN: "The thing to remember with party planning is it's not how much you spend that's important, it's how you spend it. Ikea is one of our favourite stores. Or, if you want to make your guests feel special, get them an individual bottle of Pommery POP champagne. You tie them around the top with all manner of little sparkly Hallowe'eny gestures, attach a black tag and write on it with an orange pen."

ONE Pumpkin lantern line lights, (pounds) 20, John Lewis TWO Orange potpourri, (pounds) 2, Au Naturale THREE Natura chandelier for candles, (pounds) 20, Ikea FOUR Black oil burner, (pounds) 2, Au Naturale FIVE Black glitter ball, (pounds) 3, Au Naturale SIX Glitig candle holders, 60p each, Ikea SEVEN Harvest pumpkin spice home fragrance, (pounds) 5.95, The Pier. EIGHT Orange Candle Holder, (pounds) 2, Au Naturale NINE Pychedelic spooks napkins, (pounds) 1.65, John Lewis. TEN Black Faux Fur Throw, (pounds) 15, Au Naturale ELEVEN Soup served in shot glasses by Grace'n'Flavour TWELVE Pumpkin basket, (pounds) 4.95, The Pier THIRTEEN Crocodile-effect black cushion, (pounds) 45, John Lewis; rosy orange cushion, (pounds) 15, John Lewis FOURTEEN Pommery Pop Champagne, (pounds) 7, Harvey Nichols FIFTEEN Frankincense candle, (pounds) 5, Au Naturale SIXTEEN Two- tone red-orange vase, (pounds) 8, Au Naturale SEVENTEEN Vinde cushion, (pounds) 5, Ikea EIGHTEEN Harvest pumpkin spice infused colonnade candle, (pounds) 14.95, The Pier NINETEEN Harvest Pumpkin spice duo-core colonnade candle, (pounds) 9.95, The Pier TWENTY Black cat, (pounds) 6, Au Naturale TWENTY-ONE Pumpkins from 99p, Marks & Spencer Stockists: www.aunaturale.co.uk, 0141 5522020; www.grace-n- flavour.co.uk, 07866 459791; www.ikea.co.uk, 0845 3551141; www.johnlewis.com, 02076297711; Harvey Nichols Edinburgh, 0131 524 8322; Marks and Spencer, 0845 302 1234; www.pier.co.uk, 08456091234

Copyright 2004 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.

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