Bonfire Night

[andy]

It's that time of year again. The day or night where the british public get to blow stuff up to celebrate the Houses of Parliament not being blown up. It's been like this for many, many years. Are you making a bonfire or watching fireworks? I'm going to see a public display tonight. =)

However, health and safety have got involved again. I read in the papers yesterday that a rugby club that has had a bonfire every year for nearly 400 years (i think), set up a nonfire - a projected image of a bonfire on a screen.
It just isn't the same is it? What do you think?

But anyway, have fun, be safe and tell us what you did.

[lunar]

"Nonfire" - funny, but utterly bizarre. :dizzy

I was out at our local public display last night. It`s not the same as it used to be. Due to the complaints of dog-owners, over-protective parents and those of a nervous disposition, the fireworks at our local display just aren`t what they were. In the past they were blindingly bright, piercing your ears with their screeching. They were ground-shakingly, chest- punchingly loud; so powerful that they could overwhelm you with a visceral reaction and sense of awe. That`s the idea. Not any more. Thanks to the town moaners, and the health and safety crew, we just get a few pops, pastel flashes of colour, and only one moderately loud one at the end. As TS Eliot wrote, "this is the way bonfire night ends, not with a bang but a whimper," or something.

Still, a good time was had by all, candy-floss and sparklers all round. :)

[Zerow]

If I could, I'd send up a special firework which, upon explosion, displays the following message in letters so big that anyone who's out on that evening would see it:

Bonfire night lasts for only a single evening, NOT AN ENTIRE MONTH!

[Task]

I would suggest skipping the whole bonfire thing and sitting down and watching (or reading, preferrably!) V For Vengeance.

It's certainly much more meaningful, and will likely provide you with a better experience!

[Lion]

V For Vengeance.I take it you mean V for Vendetta?

GuyFawkes night lost most of it's appeal when they banned rockets here :(
still any excuse to drink and make stuff explode is fine by me :)

the two best guyfawkes parties I've attended have involved either homemade fireworks or a flamethrower

I R RESPONSIBLE! :P

[infoxicated]

It was heavy duty in my area last night - the yokels over the road from us must have spent over £200 on fireworks. Talk about having money to burn!

From early evening until after eleven there were fireworks going off - some of them loud as hell. This morning my back garden was littered with all the crap that doesn't burn up - bits of cork, card, tubes, and the sticks from rockets. My car was covered in debris too - man, they must have sent up hundreds over the course of five hours.

Ah well, it's over for another year at least. Personally I don't think fireworks should be for sale to anyone under 21. I'd prefer it if it were just private displays that took place, rather than any idiot with a beer in them setting them off in the street.

Around a month ago I went to this musical fireworks display championships in Southport, and it truly was spectacular - 50ft catherine wheels and all sorts of aerial stuff going on. The crecscendo of the winning show on the night I went was a boom so powerful that it made your trousers flutter! :D

Now that's the way to see fireworks - not from your garden being bombarded by the twats across the road, while their kids run amock and set fire to the phone box up the street.

[Hellfire_WZ]

I got to witness a great fireworks display going on over Victoria Park from the comfort of my own living room. Massive things they were, you'd have thought they'd have had a massive exclusion zone with the things they were blowing up :)

I wholeheartedly agree with Rob though, I feel that fireworks should be limited to public displays. While a lot of people who buy them are responsible, there's always the group that seem to think it's fun letting them off in the streets or throwing them at each other. About six years ago some ****wit thought it'd be funny to put one through the main door downstairs in the stairwell. Only slight damage, but if someone had been down there...

[lunar]

Lion, I didnt realise you had Guy Fawkes night in NZ. I like the sound of the flamethrowers. Some of my family used to do home made fireworks and explosives, but when they got so loud they were threatening to make the neighbours windows implode it all came to a stop. There were home made pipe bombs aswell. Once in a demonstration of bomb-making ability I had to dive behind a pile of building sand while metal chunks thudded into it on the other side. Nutters!

Bonfire Night is the only annual festival that gets my wholehearted support, apart from my birthday. But I agree with Rob and Charlie that fireworks should only be provided to official organisers, and I would add that they should not produce anything less than trouser-fluttering explosions at all times. That stuff just makes you smile. :)

[andy]

Woah! Flamethrowers OWN! I want one =P

but anyways, I went to a musical display at sefton park. Rather amazing. Massive explosions for half an hour are much better than feeble squeels and pops for half a minute. Probably the best one Ive been to.

Also, the moon is big and red tonight =)

[infoxicated]

I was thinking of going down to the one at Sefton park, but the usual problem of parking made me decide it wasn't worth the hassle.

As it turned out our neighbourhood provided more than enough for us to view from the comfort of our own window. :)

[andy]

Trust me, it was worth it. Seriously spectacular - and thats a big word!

[DJ Techno]

?

yall had me curious, since this bonfire has been going on for 400 years.

what all is their to do.

other than i could just bring up what bonfire here in the states are about... hell everybody can say anything for the big games in Football.

Large fires, big crowds, women, drinking, and celebrating?
all that?

[andy]

Bonfire night / Guy Fawkes night / Fireworks night / 5th November etc etc

A long time ago, in London, on November 5th 1605, a few catholics led by Robert Catesby - and including Guy Fawkes - got a bit bored of the protestant government and decided to blow up the Houses of Parliament with lots and lots of gunpowder. It was called the "Gunpowder Plot".

Here's what they looked like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gunpow1.jpg

Guy Fawkes was an explosives expert who had been in the military.

This is where it gets complicated.

One conspirator, possibly Francis Tresham, wrote a letter of warning to Lord Monteagle (some Catholic). Them guys found out about the letter but decided to go ahead with the plan. But, Monteagle had shown the letter to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, the Secretary of State. The tip-off led to a search of the vaults beneath the House of Lords on the 4th. At Midnight on November 5th Thomas Knyvet, a Justice of the Peace, and a party of armed men, discovered Fawkes posing as "Mr. John Johnson" (rubbish disguise).
He was discovered possessing a watch, slow matches, and touchpaper. The barrels of gunpowder were discovered, and Fawkes was arrested. Far from denying his intentions during the arrest, Fawkes stated that it had been his purpose to destroy the King and the Parliament.

King James 1st was on the thrown. He didn't like the sound of being blown up so Guy (or guido) was made to go to the tower of london where he would have to confess and tell who the co-conspirators were...under torture!

After a few days he confessed after being on the rack (arms and legs are slowly pulled apart on a wooden bed causing the victim's body to be stretched, ripping off limbs if pulled too far - lovely). So, they were rounded up, trialed and excecuted - some where hanged, drawn and quartered. Don't you just love history?

And ever since, the British public have commemorated and celebrated the failure of the plot and capture of Guy Fawkes by lighting bonfires (big fires), burning effigues of Guy Fawkes, eating Toffee Apples and lately using fireworks. If you get to visit England on the 5th November, visit a public Firework Display - it is well worth it.

So hopefully that has taught you something new about Bonfire Night.

[ace-of-spades]

Good way to warn meddling jacobites with names like "Guido" about trying to blow up royality again...

[andy]

just shows you terrorism has been around longer than you think

[Lance]

It's been around exactly as long as humans have.

And possibly even before, amongst other species.