Guy Fawkes day....

[J. Dillon]

is tomorrow Nov 5. here.(all ready in the UK) Is this a big deal there?

JD

[purri]

"the only honest man who entered parliament with good intent"

[ShagRock]

I think Newfoundland was the main area in Canada to continue this tradition, although it has probably died out a bit in recent years. It was a great experience for young folks. Preparations would go for days before hand..collecting driftwood, trees from land clearing, etc. and stacking a pile on the beach. Groups and communities sometimes competed for the biggest one. It was made more special when local fishermen donated an old boat that was beyond repair.

Another fun thing was having small fires away from the big one to roast 'rounders'..goes great with a spot of rum!

http://www.novareinna.com/festive/guy.html

[S B]

Originally Posted by ShagRock

I think Newfoundland was the main area in Canada to continue this tradition, although it has probably died out a bit in recent years. It was a great experience for young folks. Preparations would go for days before hand..collecting driftwood, trees from land clearing, etc. and stacking a pile on the beach. Groups and communities sometimes competed for the biggest one. It was made more special when local fishermen donated an old boat that was beyond repair.

Another fun thing was having small fires away from the big one to roast 'rounders'..goes great with a spot of rum!

http://www.novareinna.com/festive/guy.html

How old are you?. It's "stealing" barrels,tires, shithouses, and yes old boats, burned on the highest hill.

[ShagRock]

Originally Posted by S B

How old are you?. It's "stealing" barrels,tires, shithouses, and yes old boats, burned on the highest hill.

We weren't as bad as you boys from Carbonear. And the cliffs were too steep where I lived

P.S. Are you goin' out to one this year?

Wonder how the Brits are feeling about the festivities?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/ar...-tomorrow.html

[S B]

Originally Posted by ShagRock

We weren't as bad as you boys from Carbonear. And the cliffs were too steep where I lived

P.S. Are you goin' out to one this year?

Wonder how the Brits are feeling about the festivities?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/ar...-tomorrow.html

We only took what had to be, like bait put out to catch you. I remember going off with a woodhorse, that I had to get within 3 feet of the owner, to acquire. Bonfire night is almost over, now its town fire with hot chocolate. Last time I participated in collection, a cranky garage owner wouldn't give the kids a few bald tires, from the truckload he had parked under the street lamp. They had a large fire that year.

[downthecreek]

Originally Posted by J. Dillon

is tomorrow Nov 5. here.(all ready in the UK) Is this a big deal there?

JD

Not as big as it used to be. When I was a child it was a great occasion. Communal bonfire with neighbours, lots of fireworks, potatoes baked in the fire and sausages cooked on it. All kinds of high jinks. In the weeks leading up to it there were lots of kids on the streets with "guys" of every description, begging for "a penny for the guy". We always made one (although we didn't get to go begging) to be burned on the bonfire.It was also our duty to search the woodpile for hedgehogs before it was lit.

Tends to be more sanitised now, with big displays run by parishes and local organisations rather than individual ones. Fireworks are quite different too. We had "roman candles", "jumping jacks", "catherine wheels" etc. plus the occasional rocket. Sparklers for the young children. Every year my father bought one "special" firework. I can remember one called "the Gerb". We regarded it with awe. The only ones that made any great noise were the "bangers". Now every firework seems to be designed to sound like gunfire or wailing shells passing overhead. They're much more spectacular, though.

Firework displays are more common than they used to be at other celebrations - the finale of the prizegiving at village regattas, for example. Many coastal villages here have a long standing tradition of the annual regatta - mixture of serious racing and fun events like the greasy pole and the backwards rowing races. Anchored in one of our creeks on an autumn evening it is not uncommon to see a display in the distance across the marshes. That's a real sign of the season coming towards its close.

We never took much notice of Halloween, but Guy Fawkes was something to look forward to. Not now. It just frightens the cat.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

I cannot add to or improve upon what Downthecreek has written here.

My seven year old son has to write a desription of a firework for his homework; I mentioned Roman Candles, Catherine Wheels and Jumping Jacks - none of which seem to exist now.

We will be taking him to the Ipswich municipal firework display tonight - but it is not the same - Guy Fawkes Night used to be a commmunal activity; now it is an event for spectators.

[keith66]

Guy Fawkes, where are you? now your country needs you!

[downthecreek]

Originally Posted by ShagRock

Wonder how the Brits are feeling about the festivities?

Much as I dislike the Daily Mail - a scurrilous gutter rag posing as something more serious - I can't help sympathising with some of these sentiments.

Politically, we are screwed. Choice between the appalling Labour government and the equally appalling Tories. Obama is said to have described Cameron (Tory leader and likely next Prime Minister) as "a lightweight". Well, he's a generous man... (Obama, not Cameron)

At least the Lisbon Treaty has been ratified, which will thwart Cameron's intention of scuppering it. And Blair (who is almost universally despised here) is most unlikely to turn up as "President of Europe", so that's good news, although I would have been glad to see a decent and competent Brit in that post. (I support Mary Robinson, a former President of Ireland, but I don't think she'll get it) Many of our neighbours in the EU (Germany, for example, or the Netherlands) are far better and more sensibly governed than we are and there is a lot we could learn from them.

So, on the whole, I think Blair, Brown and Cameron would be more suitable effigies on this day than the iniquitous Mr. Fawkes.

[downthecreek]

Originally Posted by keith66

Guy Fawkes, where are you? now your country needs you!

Hear! Hear!

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Originally Posted by downthecreek

.....Anchored in one of our creeks on an autumn evening it is not uncommon to see a display in the distance across the marshes. That's a real sign of the season coming towards its close.

I well recall one dark and stormy evening, bouncing around off East Anglia in an F7 and between the waves attempting to determine the characteristics of a flashing light...

The shouted conversation between helm and skipper went something like

Red, white, wave, wave, white, green - long pause - white....

..ck me sideways - PURPLE

That'll be Snape Maltings - fine on the starboard bow.

Originally Posted by downthecreek

We never took much notice of Halloween, but Guy Fawkes was something to look forward to. ....

Halloween was always a family party with "Dookin for apples" and treacle scones suspended from string - there was also a tradition of "guising" a word with no exact equivalent in English.
Guy Fawkes night was more a community event - different flavour altogether.


This year we seem to have had much less in the way of random fireworks - an improvement.

[PeterSibley]

Originally Posted by downthecreek

Not as big as it used to be. When I was a child it was a great occasion. Communal bonfire with neighbours, lots of fireworks, potatoes baked in the fire and sausages cooked on it. All kinds of high jinks. In the weeks leading up to it there were lots of kids on the streets with "guys" of every description, begging for "a penny for the guy". We always made one (although we didn't get to go begging) to be burned on the bonfire.It was also our duty to search the woodpile for hedgehogs before it was lit.

Tends to be more sanitised now, with big displays run by parishes and local organisations rather than individual ones. Fireworks are quite different too. We had "roman candles", "jumping jacks", "catherine wheels" etc. plus the occasional rocket. Sparklers for the young children. Every year my father bought one "special" firework. I can remember one called "the Gerb". We regarded it with awe. The only ones that made any great noise were the "bangers". Now every firework seems to be designed to sound like gunfire or wailing shells passing overhead. They're much more spectacular, though.

Firework displays are more common than they used to be at other celebrations - the finale of the prizegiving at village regattas, for example. Many coastal villages here have a long standing tradition of the annual regatta - mixture of serious racing and fun events like the greasy pole and the backwards rowing races. Anchored in one of our creeks on an autumn evening it is not uncommon to see a display in the distance across the marshes. That's a real sign of the season coming towards its close.

We never took much notice of Halloween, but Guy Fawkes was something to look forward to. Not now. It just frightens the cat.

Oh dear ! You are making me feel old.A perfect despcription of my childhood in NZ and South Australia in the 60's .Things have quietened, become safer and more santised .It's probably saved the sight of a score of little boys ...but I miss it all the same .

[downthecreek]

Originally Posted by P.I. Stazzer-Newt

PURPLE

That'll be Snape Maltings - fine on the starboard bow.

treacle scones

TREACLE SCONES!!! I haven't had one for more than thirty years! You took me straight back to tea with my wonderful grandmother - a Scottish baker of the finest quality. A freshly baked, warm treacle scone, dripping with good butter.....aaahhhhh! (Her Scotch broth was to die for as well)

Fangs for the memory

[downthecreek]

Originally Posted by PeterSibley

Oh dear ! You are making me feel old

Whoops - sorry about that

I make myself feel old too. But really, I don't mind being, well, not exactly old, but getting on a bit, maybe.

[shamus]

Very much the same story as Downthecreek, except that it all took place on Empire Day, 24th May. There hasn't been an empire for some time, so now it's 'Cracker Night'. I went to such a bonfire (no Guy) a couple of years ago, and did see Catherine wheels. What I haven't seen for years is "throwdowns".

[PeterSibley]

Originally Posted by downthecreek

Whoops - sorry about that

I make myself feel old too. But really, I don't mind being, well, not exactly old, but getting on a bit, maybe.

Well ,I'm not really .I took my 92 year old Mum shopping today and I have a way to go to catch her .

It's just all this talk of bonfires ,Catherine wheels , 5 bob rockets wizzing into the blue black sky ,the dogs barking ...it does bring back memories .

[Peerie Maa]

Here is a town Lewes in Sussex who know how to organise Bonfire Night.

[S B]

It is definitely over. Here, an 84 year old man had to burn his own boat , bonfire night.

[peter radclyffe]

the english celebrate an italian hero, over here no one i ask has heard of him

[skuthorp]

Guy Fawkes night was as downthecreek remembered it for us, with the added thrill of my grandfathers (ex RM and RE) big homemade rockets. Good for 4000 ft if I remember. Of course this was in a small bush town with a big communal bonfire on the flat. Once Bert Saunders let off some gelignite plugs along the creek, blowing big old stumps for the firewood.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

Well, the best that we could manage for the seven year old was to take him to a communal bonfire and fireworks in a nearby small town - I did cook some parkin.

I think Lewes has the right approach...