"Remember, remember the Fifth of November.......

[King Henry V]

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."
As some of you may know, Saturday is the four hundredth anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, when Catholics attempted to murder the King and all his Parliament. And for this occasion I depart tomorrow for England, where I shall be celebrating this occasion in Lewes, where my uncle lives. There is going to be a parade through Lewes, with plenty of people in fancy dress and historical costume. Hopefully I will be able to post some pics, but otherwise I shall be unavailable over the weekend. Cheerio!

[Mikeus Caesar]

Ah yes, that most English of celebrations, Guy Fawkes Night. A great excuse to eat Bonfire Toffee, burn big piles of wood and exploderise fireworks. I'm proud, because we're the only country that celebrate it.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Ah, Bonfire night. An evening of cheap frankfurter hotdogs, searing fireworks, and cheap beer. No other celebration like it.

Mind you, now that I read those essential components back to myself, it's actually a pretty dangerous list.

[TheSilverKnight]

I'm lucky enough where my birthday is on Guy Fawke's Night, so I get fireworks on my birthday

[Tribesman]

A celebration of bigotry and religeous persecution , nice .

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Oh, come off it Tribesman. Aside from that not being Frontroom material, Bonfire night is just an excuse to have fun and blow things up.

It's entirely transcended the original meaning.

[Tribesman]

It's entirely transcended the original meaning.
Really , King Henry is going to the one in Lewes is he not , where he will watch burning crosses , be addressed by the "archbishops" and see the Pope burned .

[ichi]

. . . Bonfire night is just an excuse to have fun and blow things up. . .

I need an excuse?

ichi

ps happy 'Guy' day to all the Brits

[Papewaio]

I'm proud, because we're the only country that celebrate it.

Incorrect, New Zealand celebrates it as well... still proud?

A celebration of bigotry and religeous persecution , nice .

Celebrating the capture of terrorists. In this matter the terrorists where the bigots and the ones employing religious persecution...

[thrashaholic]

Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."
As some of you may know, Saturday is the four hundredth anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, when Catholics attempted to murder the King and all his Parliament. And for this occasion I depart tomorrow for England, where I shall be celebrating this occasion in Lewes, where my uncle lives. There is going to be a parade through Lewes, with plenty of people in fancy dress and historical costume. Hopefully I will be able to post some pics, but otherwise I shall be unavailable over the weekend. Cheerio!

I live in Lewes and watch the celebrations every year, they never cease to amaze me, they're so spectacular. This year should be even better though.

The reason the Lewes celebrations are the way they are is because of the Protestant martyrs in the town who were burned at the steak by the Catholics, so at the time of the gunpowder plot there was still a lot of resentment for Catholics in the town. We also received one of Guy Fwkes' quarters, I believe, after his execution as a sort of recompense. Today, the festivals in Lewes have transcended religion though (despite the anti-papist message): 'the burning of the pope' refers to a specific pope, not the pope generally, as do the other catholic references. I know plenty of Catholics who are involved in the Bonfire societies and take part in the parades etc. (although there is always some kill-joy who writes a damning article in the local paper).

Anyway, which fireworks display are you going to King Henry? I always go to Borough, the oldest bonfire society, because it's on the hill and starts latest, so you can watch all the other displays whilst you're waiting (plus it's near my house, which is nice).

[Ianofsmeg16]

going to a Bonfire tonight with all my mates, bonfire night rules, if only as an excuse to get hammered or as a romantic date with a girl

[InsaneApache]

The best thing, for me, is when the fun starts. I have a panoramic view of the city, I kid you not it is one hell of a sight. There must've been thousands of fireworks going off within a minute or two from each other last year. I get a beer, some spliff and turn the light off in my bedroom and just sit and watch the fun.....for free

All the best to all those attending a bonfire. HF guys and remember the firework code. Hey, let's be careful out there.

[Ianofsmeg16]

For those of you with British Television, remember the commercial, when your children are using sparklers, hold them at arms length!

[Duke Malcolm]

Well, I'm on First Aid duty tonight with St Andrew's Ambulance Corps at the Lochee Park display, then afterwards I'll be out with some friends celebrating the failed attempt the kill the first King of Great Britain, and last King of Scots.

Those celebrations in Lewes sound mighty fine... I might go there one year if I find out where Lewes is...

[InsaneApache]

Well these people will certainly remember November the 5th....dreadful.

Gunpowder Plot

and the 'powers that be' urge the public to go to organised displays....think I'll stick to my back garden in future.....probably safer.

[Ianofsmeg16]

So, did everybody have nice, safe time?

[Mikeus Caesar]

and the 'powers that be' urge the public to go to organised displays....think I'll stick to my back garden in future.....probably safer.

Indeed. Having so many people at an 'organised' display is just calling for trouble. After all, the accident which got 11 people in hospital was organised, but people were still hurt. I've also heard that MP's want to make all Firework Displays to be run by the authorities, but that would just kill off Guy Fawkes Night, as Authorities would be afraid of things going wrong and getting sued, which would mean there'd be very few, if any Fireworks Displays.

Anyways, i went to a family display last night. There were about twenty of us there, all of them scousers, so they were all talking about something or another ('Have you heard the latest Kate Moss joke?' is a good example). Once we had all stuffed ourselves with food from the buffet that my Aunt had set up, we all assembled on the patio, sitting on plastic chairs. My uncles were in charge of the fireworks, and were drunk, so they had a lot of fun running about trying to set off as many Roman Candles as possible. Then, they brought out the big box, which fires out rockets one after the other. Unfortunately, it triggered panic when it started rainging red hot pieces of paper all over us. It was still fun though.

[Dutch_guy]

My uncles were in charge of the fireworks, and were drunk, so they had a lot of fun running about trying to set off as many Roman Candles as possible.

thats what we do in Holland, the shooting each other with Roman Candles.

It's fun , but then again it's dangerous at the same time, and it can scorch your clothes if a fireball- for lack of a better word - hits you.

[InsaneApache]

and another thing.....why are they called Roman candles? I mean gunpowder was'n't around when the Romans were (at least not in the west) and they used oil lamps, not candles. For that matter who was Catherine? and why did she end up on a wheel?....ah the mysteries of life...

ahh...from wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_wheel_(firework)

No info on Roman candles except how to make them

Still I found this....is this what you meant?

http://www.dailyhaha.com/_vids/roman_candle.htm

[Duke Malcolm]

I had a great time. There were no injuries at the Dundee fireworks displays, thankfully. And I managed to get a friend to share a 15 year old single malt Glenfiddich. Excellent stuff

[Flavius Clemens]

For that matter who was Catherine? and why did she end up on a wheel?....ah the mysteries of life...

Saint Catherine of Alexandria was reputedly a martyr who was to be executed on a 'wheel' - some sort of torture device, I don't know the details.

For more info see http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintc01.htm

[King Henry V]

Well I had great fun on Saturday in Lewes and I really enjoyed the procession. I didn't even mind the firecrackers that much, which were going off like bombs everywhere. That was, until my trousers caught fire. I was standing along the High Street watching the bonfire societies going by and carrying their falming torches. When the torches bein to burn out, they dump by the side of the road in big piles, which in themselves create a miny bombfire. When the procession had gone past, I accidentally stepped into one these and my trousers promptly began to burn. After hopping around with a flaming trouser leg, I managed to douse the leg with water. I decided I needed a rest and went across the Panda Gardens Chinese restaurant to have a bit to eat.
@thrashaholic: I also went to Borough, I was sitting by the side of the path leading up to the bonfire on the wet grass, which later made my singed trousers look as though I had wet myself with green wee. The fireworks were very impressive, though I did get a bit dizzy when two firework displays were going on at the same time.
After the very enjoyable entertainment on Saturday, I just vegged out on the bed in the B&B, reading the huge pile of books which I ordered from Amazon, and watching My Uncle Silas on the black and white TV in the room. However, I did go out to have dinner with my aunt and uncle at the White Hart Hotel, where they have a excellent carvery.

I am now staying at my granmother's house in Portsmouth, where there is a PC (as you can no doubt tell) adn also cable TV, so I am now watching endless episodes of the World at War on UKTV History. I am leaving for Geneva tonight.

[English assassin]

Well I had great fun on Saturday ... That was, until my trousers caught fire

LoL. Ah, if only I was in the market for a new sig...

Would you mind, your majesty?