PENNY FOR THE OLD GUY . . .

Setanta, this is another mindless piece of claptrap that has been going on for four hundred years, we burn an effigy of mr. fawkes each year on nov 5th lest we forget what a dastardly piece of work he was.

From the childs point of view it's great fun because they get to play with explosives which thousands of irresponsible shopkeepers nationwide sell them even though they are under aged in the name of profit.

Even though several children are maimed each year this nonsense goes on unchecked. If it were a one day thing it would be bad enough, but we have endured about a month of constant explosions up to now, and this will go on nightly until about next february.

I shouldn't grumble though, having our children maimed, and putting up with five months extreme inconvenience every year is preferable to putting a few dozen workers in beijing on the dole.

P.S. thanks a bundle for $##^$"~~# trick or treat night. RANT OVER.

Thanks for your thoughtful, and philosophical reply, Kev. Your very astute observation of our subtle plot to undermine your children's dental hygiene is a tribute to your perspicacity. We have much the same fireworks nonsense before and after July 4th--it tends to keep the dogs riled up.

H-u-m-o-u-r !

Kev, have to admit I used to get Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes night all mixed up because they were so close together.

setanta/heeven

Read this article to fully understand why sensible people over here are so frustrated with the mind numbing ineptitude of British politicians.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2328473.stm

What's your beef, kev--the article suggests that a ban on fireworks was enacted. Or did I misread?

Getting to the 4th around here: At some point a few years ago, my neighborhood became a tradition of being a major war zone on that night. I cower inside the house and hope the place doesn't burn to the ground. Anyhow, lately I've been raking leaves and finding plastic stringy bits that I know are the detritus of those fireworks from months ago. #$!*!*

I think that these days we have more organised fireworks displays, run by town councils or local clubs. They'll usualy use a sports ground or similar.
60 minutes of fire & brimstone along with beer, burgers & burnt fingers.
Oh to be young again.

PS. it usualy rains for the duration. Oh and Mr. Fawkes was a Republican, sort of, I believe

Hi d'artagnan,

The main point of that article was to draw attention to how many children are injured each year, as you read for 2001 it was more than 1300. For that reason alone fireworks should be banned.

The other point, which I failed to point out was that banning a couple of types of fireworks will achieve next to nothing because there are so many different ones, any of which can be thrown at people, and routinely are.

One very old "prank" is to drop a banger through letter boxes, which in the U.K. means that they land in your hallway. It's a damned nuisance, but worse it's very dangerous not to mention costly, and for what? A silly long outdated tradition.

When we count the cost of injuries to our children, on Nov 6th, many of which will have been caused by hooligan behaviour I'll guarantee that convictions nationwide will be counted on one hand, and this from a country that last week took a ten year old boy to court for squirting a passerby with a water pistol.

Our rulers are idiots.

D'art, This is one of the one's they are going to ban, and not before time.


http://thisisleeds.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=685685

We used to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day here but then the property manager got involved, and what with the fire damage and court dates, and dead kids, we switched to celebrating Christmas instead. Thankfully, the landowners here don't object much to crucifying a Jew once a year. <Hope sick humour translates over the pond>

Banning everything which has can be potentially dangerous is not the solution. The problem is much deeper that unsafe use of fireworks. What is needed is more education and regulation in sale and use of these fireworks, and adrastic change in attitude of the people. A yob who uses a firework to vandalize will find something else if it is not available. Vandals throw bricks at cars all the time, they pour petrol through letter boxes, but bricks and petrol are not banned are they ?

Fireworks bring a joy to millions of adults and children alike. They are a symbol of celebration of joy and happiness. Who has not been charmed by the millions of colors which light up our skies on Diwali and bon fire night ?

Let us not blame the tools when it is the workmen who are at fault.

Re: PENNY FOR THE OLD GUY . . .


The only place I know where Guy Fawkes Day (or Bonfire Night as it is usually known) is given as a holiday is at St Peter's School, here in York. Mr Fawkes was an Old Boy of the school, so they get the day off. St Peter's is a private school (fee-paying with boarders) and the pupils are all stuck-up spoilt arrogant brats, so having them loose in the town for an extra day is not welcome. Another St Peter's Old Boy is Richard Branson.

For the rest of the population, Bonfire Night (as mentioned by OAK & Kev) consists of either a small-scale display in the garden (known as a 'yard' to you lot :wink: ) or at some other organised event. There would be a bonfire at some venues, where the effigy of Guy Fawkes is burnt.

It probably means most to the kids from the council estates. They create a tatty Guy from old clothes stuffed with newspaper inside tights (a.k.a. 'pantyhose'?), then sit outside shops hassling passers-by with calls of "Penny for the Guy, mister?". If you give them an actual penny for their meagre efforts, you will hear the traditional response of 'F*** off, you tight c**t.' Usually 50p will buy you passage free from insults.

This money is then used to buy fireworks illegally from dodgy shopkeepers (as mentioned by Kev). These fireworks are then set-off anywhere the kids feel like - in their hand, someone else's hand, car exhausts, letterboxes, wheely-bins etc.

The actual bonfire itself is not usually lit until 5 November although construction is started beforehand. Rival gangs will raid each other's bonfire piles for fuel (much violence follows). They are also sabotaged by various inventive & dangerous methods - petrol cans (fireball explosion), glass jars with the lids screwed on tightly (flying shards of hot glass), fireworks aimed sideways (think 'Nam).

For most kids, it's a night of loud noises & pretty colours. The whole Gunpowder Plot thing is/was taught in schools to the younger kids, but no-one really pays much attention to it.

Ta, GD, that's just the ticket . . .

Fifty p? Here, the panhandlers ask for two bucks, saying they need bus fare--and the response is just about the same, if you tell them to piss off, which is usually what i do.

Put's me in mind of Ray Davies & Co:

Hey Father Christmas
Give us your money
We've had enough
Of your silly toys . . .

No worries Set. Are there any celebrations out there in the colonies?

The whole concept of Bonfire Night seems faintly ridiculous & out-dated to be honest. Very much like the whole British Establishment in fact...

You might enjoy Steve's thread about the decripitude of the Royalist establishment.

We have Thanksgiving coming up, which is all about overeating and watching football on the teevee--and then the stores will all go crazy with the Christmas stuff . . . no bonfires, though, the environmental gestapo would have a coronary . . .

It was great when I was a kid. Every family would have a selection of fireworks - usually a mix of "pretty ones" that really were very pretty, and "crackers" or bangy ones.

I was always a bit jumpy with the bangers - but loved the pretty ones - like golden rain, and catherine wheels.

The dads generally had the big job of lighting the smeggers - and most kids were under good control in those days, so nothing wildly untoward happened. However, there were always visiting neighbour boys, who delighted to throw "jumping jacks" (little crackers in a long string) amongst the legs of the girls. The bad boys would throw "penny bombs" at you - which was frowned on, as it could be dangerous.

If you were lucky, the neighbours would set theirs off at a different time, so we kids would roam from house to house, hoping to come at the right time.

The poor dogs hated it - and, later, when I had a horse, we used to have to mount guard, because, by that time, there were way more out of control kids, and a horse could easily be frightened to its death if crackers were thrown at it and it bolted.

In the end, the thing was banned, because of injuries and fires. 'Twas great fun when I was little, though!

I absolutely adore fireworks even now !!! For Indians, they form a big part of our biggest festival Diwali. Yesterday was Bonfire night, but unfortunately I was fast asleep by 2000 hrs having slept only for 2 hrs the previous night....Damn, I missed it (had even bought the fireworks !!)

I'm pretty sure Guy fawkes' Night or Bonfire Night is a continuation of a tradition which is much older. I had a great book about old British and Celtic legends called The Winter Solstice but I lent it to a girl called Bridget and now she's gone to Indonesia so where's my book now? If I had it, I could look it up and tell you how the Celts burned human sacrifices on their bonfires or bone-fires to remind the waning sun to come back in all its former power in the spring. It worked, too. But I haven't, so I can't.
I think Guy Fawkes' Night now is traditionally used by the British to remind us to look out, Christmas is not far off. Time to book the holiday in the Canary Islands.