...The fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
There can be no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Bonfire Night. Guy Fawkes Night. I'm not sure if my readers abroad have even heard of them, or of the gunpowder plot.
On November 5th 1605, with the new King James I of England and VI of Scotland just two years on the throne, a group of plotters planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament when James was attending the state opening. They were Catholics appalled that there was another Protestant monarch in the kingdom.
The plot was discovered because one of the plotters warned his brother-in-law not to attend. The plotters were caught and tortured.
Guy Fawkes was one of the plotters.
Guy Fawkes was one of the plotters.
You can see the effects of his torture by comparing these before and after signatures.
Some of the group were hanged, taken down alove and disembowelled. Fawkes and another were hung, drawn and quartered. They were not burnt at the stake, but this is the fate to which Guy's effigy has been subjected ever since.
When I was a child, we used to make a Guy by stuffing some of dad's old clothes with newsaper. The head was a stuffed stocking, on which we put a Guy mask, made of pressed paper, and bought at Woolworth's.
We'd put our Guy in a pushchair (stroller) and park ourselves on a corner to ask passers-by for a "penny for the Guy", and with what we collected we bought fireworks for November 5th.
On the night, we had a bonfire and fireworks party in our back garden, with friends and relations in attendance. Dad would build a bonfire and stick Guy on the top. The fireworks were kept in the outside toilet and each one was carefully examined with a torch before being safely set off by dad. There was never an accident of any kind - though we might have been unlucky if my sister's best friend's boyfriend (later to become a copper) had done things his way, such as putting jumping jacks near our feet to chase us up the garden.
Potatoes were baked in their jackets at the base of the bonfire, and at the end of the evening, we would go inside and draw patterns in the air with sparklers, then tuck in to our potato supper. It's one of the many wonderful childhood memories that has stayed with me through over 50 years.
These days kids don't even seem to know the slightest part of the Gunpowder Plot story. They have embraced Halloween, and beg treats for just going and knocking on doors and threatening havoc if not rewarded. A strange celebration for a country where fundamentalist Christianity has such a strong hold. Wonder if Romney would ban it if elected?
Well it's one tradition from across the pond I wish we'd shun.
Fireworks used to cause a lot of injuries, and their sale is now severely restricted. But there are always professionally run official displays on or near the night. I remember one years ago where they did burn the Houses of Parliament - in effigy. And the then Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher too.
Sadly, last year a rugby club put on a display too near the M5 motorway, which led to a crash that killed 7 people. Almost a year on, the organiser has just been charged with manslaughter.
Meanwhile, the time for keeping my cats safely inside is upon us. November 5th being on a Monday this year, I think we might have 3 days of disturbance, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
On the night, we had a bonfire and fireworks party in our back garden, with friends and relations in attendance. Dad would build a bonfire and stick Guy on the top. The fireworks were kept in the outside toilet and each one was carefully examined with a torch before being safely set off by dad. There was never an accident of any kind - though we might have been unlucky if my sister's best friend's boyfriend (later to become a copper) had done things his way, such as putting jumping jacks near our feet to chase us up the garden.
Potatoes were baked in their jackets at the base of the bonfire, and at the end of the evening, we would go inside and draw patterns in the air with sparklers, then tuck in to our potato supper. It's one of the many wonderful childhood memories that has stayed with me through over 50 years.
These days kids don't even seem to know the slightest part of the Gunpowder Plot story. They have embraced Halloween, and beg treats for just going and knocking on doors and threatening havoc if not rewarded. A strange celebration for a country where fundamentalist Christianity has such a strong hold. Wonder if Romney would ban it if elected?
Well it's one tradition from across the pond I wish we'd shun.
Fireworks used to cause a lot of injuries, and their sale is now severely restricted. But there are always professionally run official displays on or near the night. I remember one years ago where they did burn the Houses of Parliament - in effigy. And the then Prime Minister Mrs Thatcher too.
Sadly, last year a rugby club put on a display too near the M5 motorway, which led to a crash that killed 7 people. Almost a year on, the organiser has just been charged with manslaughter.
Meanwhile, the time for keeping my cats safely inside is upon us. November 5th being on a Monday this year, I think we might have 3 days of disturbance, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
5 comments:
I have find memories of Bonfire Night when I was a child..when we did have a bonfire and the fireworks were a small part of it. We used to have them in the garden here when the children were smaller, but tonight I'm going to stand in the front garden and watch the professional display organised by the Parish Council...thankfully no-one really lets them off close to us anymore, so the cats are pretty relaxed.
I have wonderful memories of bonfire night too, usually it would be so cold, dad and my uncle would be outside letting off the fireworks, while me, my cousin, mum and aunt would watch from the warmth of the kitchen (poor dad/uncle). Then there was the year we went to an 'organised' display near the River Trent, it started to pour with rain, and when we got back to the car park, it was under water, so we had to paddle back to the cars. Personally speaking, I wish they'd just make it that people had to go to organised displays now, if only because - like New Year - they start letting them off days before and for days after (and at all hours of the night). Our neighbour is currently firing them off in front of their chicken coop. I hope they're not surprised if they have 4 dead chickens in the morning....
'Trick or Treat' was unheard of over here when I was a kid, and it's an import I think we could do without, it having no history at all here.
ps: If I ever knew passed the first two lines of the 'Remember, remember' couplet, I've forgotten I ever did, so thanks for telling me what the rest of it was!
Like most holidays over here...Halloween has lost it's true meaning. Now it's a Huge business and it's all about the candy.
When I was in 9th grade, my history teacher gave us a test that included a question in which the answer was 'the gunpowder plot'. As it hadn't been part of what he'd taught us up to that point, everyone got it wrong. When I left class, my friends were headed in for their turn at the test. I told them that the answer to that question was 'the gunpowder plot. They were the only ones who got it right. My teacher KNEW it was me that blabbed. No one ratted me out at all, but he knew it was me. He looked right at me when he was pressing my class to turn in the big mouth who told the next class the answer. So when I graduated and got him to sign my senior yearbook, he wrote, 'never forget The Gunpowder Plot'.
I only became really aware of it after reading Edith Nesbit's books a few years later. She mentioned the 5th of November frequently.
Sounds a bit like a 4th of July celebration. Hope all you ladies had a safe and fun Guy Fawkes Day or Bonfire night.
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