Home & Garden

It's a well-loved tradition, counting down the days to Christmas, and with just over three weeks until you open that first advent calendar door, Steve Wilson shows us the alternative adult options on offer this year.

You might think they’re just for making soups and humble stews, but the latest batch of slow cookers can create a whole variety of culinary delights.

From crisping chicken to whipping up desserts, Alice Beer is here with a crash course in using our slow cookers as she reveals her pick of the best from the high street.

With Bonfire Night just around the corner people across Britain will be gearing up for a night of dazzling fireworks. For our furry friends the bangs and crashes can all be a little too much.

Thankfully, Bill Turnbull is on hand with a solution to calm those panicked pets.

Returning for a second year of his Pet Sounds programme on Classic FM, Bill is hoping to help keep pets stress-free during the fireworks season.

And as he joins us on the sofa, Bill also discusses his battle with terminal prostate cancer, something he recently opened up about in Channel 4 show, Bill Turnbull: Staying Alive.

Apart from chowing down on chocolate and scoffing sweets, choosing your costume is one of the best parts about Halloween. However, in the midst of finding that spooktacular outfit it’s scary how much money you can end up spending.

Well, fret no more. Crafting expert Debbie Shore is here with her DIY costume ideas. They are simple, quick and cheap to make, so cheap in fact, all you’ll need is a cardboard box!

If you're set to have a house filled with little terrors this Halloween, then Juliet Sear has some ghoulishly good treats guaranteed to keep even the scariest of monsters quiet!

From Rice Krispie Brains to edible graveyards, Juliet has Halloween food for your ghouls covered!

RICE CRISPIE BRAINS:

Ingredients:

45g butter

300g Mini Marshmallows or big ones cut into smaller chunks (with scissors, makes it easier for melting) I use vegetarian marshmallows, you can use either.

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract

150g Rice crisp cereal

Red writing icing in a tube (or make your own if you wish)

Sunflower oil for greasing your hands

Method:

- Line a baking tray with baking parchment.- In large saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and vanilla and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
- Tip in the cereal and stir until well coated. Let cool slightly so it’s easy to handle.
- Use a little oil to grease your hands to prevent sticking as and when you need to. Take out a good handful of the mixture and using your hands, push the ball together into an oval shape and place onto the tray, do this for all of the mixture.
- Once all the shapes are ready, make the centre line on each ‘brain’ by pushing the edge of an oiled spoon handle gently into the treats to form a line down the centre.
- Now it’s time to add the gory bit!! With the red writing icing, add the blood vessel details over the brains to look like blood vessels. These look really gross but sure are tasty!!!

There's only three days to go until Halloween, so it's time for the main event - carving the perfect pumpkin! Luckily we've got a professional in the studio to help out.

World pumpkin carving record-breaker, Dave Finkle aka The Pumpkin Man, shows us how to recreate the scariest looking pumpkins.

Estate agents warned it was ‘impossible’ to sell - but after ten years, the UK’s ‘spookiest home’ finally has a new owner!

Once a medieval prison in 1582 where 13 witches were kept, previous owner Vanessa Mitchell fled the property in 2008 after experiencing ‘relentless paranormal activity’.

So what horrors await its new residents?

After spending the night investigating, Alison joins us live from the home in Essex.

With the weather getting wetter and colder as we head into winter, drying your clothes is about to get a lot harder. But, rather than cranking up the central heating, the latest drying racks to hit the shelves are here to help with our laundry needs and keep our costs down too.

Our Queen of Clean Lynsey Crombie is here to talk us through the best of the bunch, and share her top tips too!