Growing up in Sunderland: Remembering when we carved turnips for Halloween instead of pumpkins

Families across Sunderland and beyond will be putting their pumpkin carving skills to the test as we head closer to October 31. But who amongst us remembers the pain and toil of carving the turnip?

Forget the impressive designs you see on Instagram and Pinterest for pumpkins; when it came to the turnip you were lucky to muscle your way through two eyes and a mouth of sorts.

Our Wearside Echoes Facebook group is the place to be if you want to reminisce on the good old days, and life growing up in Sunderland. With spooky season almost upon us, we asked for memories of the Halloween turnip and the hard work you had to put in to make it presentable.

See if any of these stories strike a chord with you and click here to join the debate on our online community.

Sue Boswell: ”My Dad always did it for us. Candle and a bit of string and we were away.”

Karen Atkinson: “My poor dad worked as a plasterer all day, then came home on Halloween and carved out five for us, poor fella must have been knackered!”

Debbie Hickman: “My middle finger is still dented 50 years on. Still love the whiff of scorched turnip!”

Jean Clark: “We did our own turnips it took ages but great memories and I can smell it now.”

Peter Whillians: “Used to drill out the inside. Hard work.”

Rosemarie Barratt Simpson: “After you had spent a whole afternoon carving it out, the smell when you lit the candle was like a witch’s breath.”