Now if you're not from the UK you may not be familiar with Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night. Basically it's an annual celebration of King James I's survival of the gunpowder plot that was beneath the House of Lords way back when and to celebrate his survival the people took to the streets and lit bonfires. Guy Fawkes was part of this treason plan and was arrested. V For Vendetta helped bring this story to light a little bit more with the mask but still, ever since on the 5th November (and about a month before and after if you ask half the people in my city) there are firework displays and bonfire parties everywhere you turn and this to me as a child was terrifying.
You see, I hated fireworks. By hated I mean I was intensely scared of. Every time a firework went off I'd scream, cry, shake, hide under my covers and bawl it out. It got so bad I started having what I now know as panic attacks and for no tangible reason, either. I was never hurt by a firework, one never got close to me or really scared me and I have no idea how it started but one day it did and it terrified me until I was 19. At 19 I had my daughter and from there I'm now okay with them even if I still sometimes put my fingers in my ears at displays. Luckily for me my daughters love them and will happily cheer and smile along to the huge bangs while I am huddled away still banning balloons from parties as I hate the bangs. I may never be fully over it and while I am a lot better my love of sparklers has never gone away. Sparklers were safe(ish). Sparklers didn't make bangs and launch me into a frenzy. Sparklers were the focal point of Bonfire Night for me and so every year I buy about ten packs.
I was fiddling around with my camera the other day and ended up taking these shots of my sparkler up against the solar fairy lights of the rosemary bush in my garden so I thought how better to share them than with tales of terror from my childhood?
Those photographs are great. My hometown use to do some great fireworks (the same with York which being the big city growing up from where I live and being the home of Mr Fawkes everyone use to go to them) but health and safety and local councils not wanting to do them any more, fireworks displays stopped happening about six or so years ago which were a shame because even though it was freezing cold, they were great fun.
ReplyDeleteWent to a couple of fun ones as a student in Newcastle - the display in Heaton use to be upon the top of a hill and you could just sit out and see them happening from all over the city into Gateshead, was really special! Now I'm in the US and no one understands it!
Gorgeous photos of the sparklers!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I love the fireworks, and it's nice you can now enjoy them a bit more with your daughter :)
Hmm maybe...
Those photos are beautiful x
ReplyDeletemy son is too young to go to any firework displays this year sadly, but i'm sure we'll see plenty from our back window and we'll wait till next year to enjoy the exciting firework displays and entertainment. lovely photos btw :)
ReplyDeletehttp://cydneyhelsdown.blogspot.co.uk
Stunning photos! :)
ReplyDelete