A ? for Joey and David

jbond · July 31, 2005

(and obviously the 5th Nov as well)

Hi Karen

Excuse my ignorance what happens November 5th, we are in Santorina Greece on that date?

They will not celebrate Guy Fawkes Day in Santorini. Those damn Greeks have no idea of the important things in life. :sealedlips:

Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5th 1605.

It was the traditional opening of the Parliament session for the year, watch TV in November and I'm sure that you will see QE 2 opening Parliament with all the same pomp and ceremony. Guy Fawkes was captured and his assassination plot against James I of England, VI of Scotland, was foiled. It's a great tradition to have a bonfire, fireworks and a street party to commemorate the event. You must have seen the movies where the street urchins ask "Penny for the Guy". That's Guy Fawkes, not Guy Lombardo. OK, now the question is, who's Guy Lombardo?

During WWII there were no bonfires or fireworks, but we had one great celebration in 1946. We collected wood from everywhere, legal and not so legal, mostly not so legal. Throwing potatoes into the fire was a great sport, getting them back out to eat was an even greater sport.

Bonfires are a great English tradition. When Charles and Diana were married, a bonfire was lit in London, when it's flames were seen at the next site, another fire was lit. I don't know how long it took, but within a very short time, fires were burning all over the UK.

By the way, James I was a Protestant, Guy Fawkes was a Catholic, so who was right, depends on who wrote the story.

KarenUK · August 2, 2005

Very well put JBond!! A lot more interesting than what I could have written!! How daft was I to think other countries knew we celebrated the fact the Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament!! :tongue:

I think I enjoy Bonfire Night more than Halloween - which may be 1 reason the adults dont get quite involved as the kids on the 31st? too busy arranging who is bringing what nibbles and drink and fireworks for the following week haha :grin: just to give an idea last November we went to our local park with a couple of thousand others for our local main display then to a big family doo on the saturday (6th) - not quite a few thousand to that but a late night & a lot of fun for the kids - bonfire toffee & marshmellows abound!

jbond · August 2, 2005

I'd forgotten about the treacle toffee. My Mom used to make it, constant stirring in the pan, otherwise it would burn. You had to have really strong teeth, 'cause it was really chewy and stuck like crazy to your teeth. You almmost pulled your teeth out trying to get it loose, but it was a lot of fun.

Do you still fire rockets out of milk bottles and drop bangers (not the sausage type) through letter boxes and run like ****?