Remember, Remember…

Remember, remember the fifth of November,

The gunpowder treason and plot,

I know of no reason

Why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot.

November 5th is Guy Fawkes Day in the UK. It’s the day that the plot to blow up the Parliament Buildings in London, along with the King was thawrted. To celebrate, bonfires were lit across the country.

The tradition continues to this day, with the lighting of bonfires to celebrate, and to burn the Guy in effigy, and fireworks to acknowledge the role of gunpowder in the plot.

I’ve gone to two Guy Fawkes bonfire parties. The first was with my former housemate, and we knew that the Princess Royal (Anne) was going to be lighting the fire in our area, and so we spent about an hour trying to find some old ship where the fire was being lit. Of course, never saw the bonfire, but we did see the Princess Royal as she was leaving.The second bonfire I went to was with my cousins, and we watched the neighbouring school shooting off fireworks and then we went to a dinner where they had a massive bonfire in the garden! It was a little strange seeing the fire, because there has been a ban on open burning where I live, since I was a child. People have big parties, and even wear Guy masks, which are all pretty identical.

Happy Guy Fawkes Day, and don’t go blowing anything up!