Putting the "bon" in "fire"

[undyingking]

Had the slightly unusual experience last night of going to a Guy Fawkes Night in a neighbour's garden, in which all the fireworks used were garden-sized, rather than display-sized. Rather than cowering by the back door, we were craning forward to peer at them. I can't remember when that last happened.

It seems that my neighbours are very different from my friends in this regard -- over the last n years I seem to have more or less alternated between going to public displays and going to friends, and in all the friends cases it's been "if you're going to have bangs in your back garden, you want big bangs"¹.

On another note, it surprised me that there seems to be some difference of opinion about what the idea of the event is supposed to be. So a quick poll is called for I think.

[Poll #1083758]

---

1 Yes, even since that infamous occasion at Eastwick of which we do not speak.

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

Wow, had to answer "something else" to all four! So without further ado:

1) Fireworks Night.
2) Celebrates how cool it is to set off fireworks!
3) Your size categories are insufficiently comprehensive. The rockets we were firing went a good 30m up and 'ploded quite adequately, so nobody could possibly need to squint at them. But equally I couldn't describe them as "display sized" unless it was an unusually feeble display.
4) Ordinary non-barbecue food.

[floralaetifica.livejournal.com]

Fireworks night, I knew there was a missing option.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Ah well, it's too late to add it as an option now. Hopefully other such will see this comment and treat it as a virtual radio button.

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

Normal garden fireworks if I can be bothered - normally don't do much at all for bonfire night any more.
Oh - and potatoes baked in an oven rather than a fire.
Pie and peas :)

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

Bah - forgot about the bonfire toffee!

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

What's that?

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfire_toffee - with the added note by me that I've never even considered that it might be available at supermarkets. It's something we always used to make around bonfire night. It has the amazing property of being slightly runny if not kept in the fridge, but still shatters when hit with a hammer. Actually, thinking about it, I kept some in the fridge the other year and it was still slightly runny and glooped round my toffee hammer.
Good stuff - keeps kids quiet :)

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Oooh, right. I love treacle toffee, but have never considered making it myself. Do you have a recipe handy?

[ar-gemlad.livejournal.com]

When I get home, I'll find it out. It's not the one I had as a kid, but I think I've made the Mrs. Beeton version recently which was good.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I had a really bad asthma attack after a firework display last new year. I don't know if the two were connected, but it seems very likely, so I intend to steer clear in the future.

I acutally tended to prefer little displays as you don't have to crane your neck all the time and it feels more like a family event.

[queenortart.livejournal.com]

We didn't this year. Were going to go to the big display on Blackheath, but with the nasty cold I've got I decided that standing outside in the cold for hours was a really cack idea.

When we do them at home himdoors is rather fond of ginormous fireworks that say stand 25 metres away. 25 meters away is through our house and into the house on the opposite side of the road.

And another thing, it's impossible to get a metal biscuit tin big enough to put them in!

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Metal dustbin could be your friend!

[mrlloyd.livejournal.com]

For fireworks used, I'd normally go garden sized, but I wanted to mention the Dutch's insane approach to new years fireworks. Everyone buys lots of small ones, heads into the street and then sets them off in vast numbers with no regard whatsoever for safety distances, throwing fireworks (at people) is practically de rigeur in some studenty parts of town.

While the resulting noise is tremendous, the constant background noise of the emergency services is rather sobering.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Wah!

Isn't the TV filled with scare stories about little boy who blew his hand off, like here?

[mrlloyd.livejournal.com]

No, there's not nearly enough of that here. Otherwise entirely sane people turn out to be utterly irresponsible once a year.

[dr-bob.livejournal.com]

The food I always associate with bonfire night is hot dogs and tomato soup. Dunno why, but they were always the staples of firework displays during my childhood, so remain associated.

[secondhand-rick.livejournal.com]

Expansion:

1. Answer as is, despite bateleur's answer in his comment being more apposite, on account of how hardly anyone seems to do the bonfire bit anymore.

2. It no longer celebrates anything other than a night with bonfires and fireworks. Haven't they made bonfires illegal, or the storing of wood / rubbish for the building of bonfires or some such? As your questions suggest, a lot of people don't really understand whether Guy Fawkes was a good guy or a bad guy. You'd have thought setting fire to him in effigy would be a clue, but apparently not.

3. Small balcony only = no fireworks here. Besides, there's almost always a big fireworks event going on somewhere, and they can spend gazillions on fireworks compared to me.

4. Sausages.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

You'd have thought setting fire to him in effigy would be a clue, but apparently not.

No, no, that just means he's a rock star!

4. Sausages.

I'm sure I saw you in a Punch and Judy show once...

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

4. Sausages.

I'm sure I saw him on That's Life.

... although I have bobbed apples, as a child

[cleanskies.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I think I have (observed it being done at one of my parties) as an adult, too. The blindfolds and hands tied behind your back take on a whole different aspect.

But the proper food for a bonfire night is sausages in buns and mulled cider (hot apple juice for kids and drivers). My current place is unsuited to bonfires but I used to have pretty good ones at Belvedere Road. The trick (back then) was to buy fireworks one size too large for your garden -- but I think safety legislation has tightened this year, and that size of firework may no longer be as available as it once was (though someone in our square of gardens had them).

Actually, I do call it something else, now I come to think of it. I call it the annual shelling. It was loud this year!

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

I guess I call it Bonfire Night since I've moved here.
When the weather was OK, I used to go and watch the Cambridge display but the last one I saw two years ago was really uninspiring (nice effects but no timing whatsoever) so I haven't bothered since.

Friends in Peterborough/Farcet used to organise a Bonfire Night/Halloween party where some people would bring stuff but it seems you need to spend a serious amount of money for something nice so I never bother. Instead, I take photos of people setting themselves or each other on fire. ;oP food was generic party food, rarely barbecue.
The party didn't happen this year because their house was damaged in an (unrelated) fire and they had to move into temporary accommodation.

In Germany, the traditional (and only legal) night to burn fireworks is New Year's Eve with both private parties and public displays so bringing in the new year is a little more exciting at home than here (where the main object seems to be getting drunk).

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Yes, New Year is definitely mostly about getting drunk -- maybe it didn't used to be, but it has been as long as I go back. I suspect that after the farcical attempts to organize more interesting stuff at the Millennium celebrations, it will remain so.

Interesting that Germany doesn't allow fireworks the rest of the year, is that for safety reasons?

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Probably.

I should have made that clearer: there are obviously public displays at all kinds of occasions but as a private citizen you can only buy fireworks two days before New Year's Eve and it's only legal to burn them *privately* on NYE and NY.

I actually don't know why it's illegal. I guess it's more the noise and general nuisance but obviously safety is an issue.
There's a legal limit of how big a single charge (of a rocket etc.) can be. If it's more than a certain amount, you need a licence. IIRC, these are rather strict, even within Europe so every year they give out warnings not to buy fireworks in the Czech Republic or Poland because they can not only be illegal but really dangerous. Every year they confiscate tons of the stuff at the borders.

"party fireworks" that are safe for indoors are available and legal all year round

*giggles* I just did a little bit of research and found that the German body responsible for testing and approving fireworks is "BAM"
(Bundesamt für Materialprüfung, Federal Office for Material Testing).

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

the German body responsible for testing and approving fireworks is "BAM"

heh!

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

I don't quite know which of your options it falls under, but it commiserates Guy Fawkes's failure to blow up parliament, and he is burnt in effigy for failing to do so.