How times change

It's that time of year when in the UK Guy Fawkes is remembered with bonfires and fireworks.

As a child I recall children going round the streets and knocking at doors asking for a 'penny for the guy', hoping to get enough money to buy some fireworks.  They would have an effigy of Guy Fawkes which they dressed in old clothes, usually transported by pushchair, awaiting his fate on the top of the bonfire.  There were no laws forbidding the sale of fireworks to youngsters. The 'celebrations' were usually a family affair, organised bonfires were a rarity.

We carried on the tradition when we had our own children.  F. took charge - preparing a bonfire in the back garden, buying as many fireworks as he could afford, and being chief of the proceedings.  I had the job of keeping the children safe while the fireworks were being let off, and cooking suitable snacky food - baked potatoes and sausages.  Sparklers were a must and the children enjoyed waving these through the air, watching the patterns they made.  There were some organised firework displays and as we lived on the opposite side of the valley from the local raceway we had a good view of their firework display from the bedroom windows.

Now the family has grown up we don't bother with fireworks and F. sees bonfire night as a good time to burn the garden trimmings that are too large to compost down.  Fewer people have home bonfires and fireworks (a consequence of gardens in new homes getting smaller? ) and organised firework displays complete with funfairs and food vans are well attended.

This year bonfire night happened at the weekend  so there were three nights when people celebrated.  We went shopping to our usual supermarket on Saturday evening and arrived at the car park just as the  people were leaving the display organised by the local Scouts.  The supermarket car park which usually has very few cars at that time of day was crowded with cars that had been parked there by people attending the firework display.  Now families were piling into their vehicles - it wasn't quite mayhem but it was an entertainment watching the manoeuvring as everybody tried to get their car out of the parking space and back onto the road.  We stayed still, watching and waiting till the car park was less busy before we tried to park. 

On Sunday, F went on a journey to the other side of town.  He had to cross the road which runs past the County Showground.  On the return journey, he made a detour because the traffic on the road to the showground was one long traffic jam - people attending the organised fireworks display at the showground  - he didn't fancy driving several miles in slow-moving, bumper to bumper traffic.

It's easy to watch spectacular fireworks displays on the television nowadays for New Year's Eve or Royal Weddings, but I think you don't get the same atmosphere as watching fireworks live. Of course, the best firework display I've attended was the one put on at the Oshkosh Airshow - that was spectacular - but I don't have to photographs to prove it.