Saturday, October 08, 2005
Bonfire Night
Tradition being killed off?
The Shields Gazette reports today of the moves being instigated once again by Council Officials, Police, and Fire Service, to "keep people safe" on this year's bonfire night.
Whilst I am in agreement to a certain extent that injuries ought to be kept to an acceptable minimum, I am becoming increasingly sceptical at the approach of "officialdom" to "safety", so much so that I suspect that the bureaucracy would be quite happy to see Guy Fawkes night celebrations killed off completely. Indeed, the Gazette published a letter from one of it's readers just a few nights ago suggesting just this.
I find the idea quite abhorrent!
The gundowder plot in 1605 was a serious attempt to destroy the democracy that this country enjoyed at the time, if it had succeeded both the sovereign and parliament would have been destroyed. We have celebrated the saving of democracy by lighting bonfires, burning effigies of "Guy", and with firework displays for 400 years. The purpose and values of Guy Fawkes night are as relevant now as they were four centuries ago, yet those in positions of power, up and down the land, seem determined to erase the event from our history books.
Perhaps, as well as visiting schools to remind pupils of how not to handle fireworks and bonfires, the fire service and the police ought to be joining in the dissemination of information about the historical importance of celebrating the countering of the gunpowder plot.
The internet has a richness of source material relating to Guy Fawkes and one of my favourites for children is a flash game on the BBC,
Parliament's own website has a good short article on the plot, and Wikipedia's articles are quite concise.
As a child, I remember that every back lane had at least two bonfires, parents supervised the fires and fireworks, and we enjoyed such treats as baked potatoes and roasted chestnuts. We had spent hours creating a "Guy" and collecting "pennies for the Guy"in order to purchase fireworks. The local fire service may have had a busy night in dowsing fires which had not been properly extinguished, but they coped, with much lesser resources than they have now!
Accidents, however, were common, and the Ingham Infirmary would deal with many minor (and some major) burns. The greatest difference between the 1960's and now of course, is the fact that those who suffered accidental burns would not rush to the nearest solicitor to seek damages! They recognised that they probably contributed something by their own negligence, and besides, we had not yet been visited by "compensation culture" as we know it now.
Two years ago I tried (with official sanction) to organise a small fireworks party and bonfire, complete with food, for a small group of parents and children in my locality. I had found what I considered to be a suitably safe place to hold it and went to the Council to find out what they would require of me; the list was intimidating, a safe "fall out" area of about 100 square metres, safety barriers, two trained first aid attendants, fire extinguishers, a fire safety trained person, third party public liability insurance cover of half a million pounds. You get the picture?
Yes, the officials won the arguement, we did not have a bonfire.
I agree, let's do what we can to keep people safe, and raise the minimum age requirement to purchase fireworks to 21, but let's balance it against the traditions of the occassion. Let's encourage, rather than discourage responsibly organised fireworks parties. Let's provide more, rather than less, largescale official celebrations, and include a bonfire and a Guy.
In short, we ought to able to continue celebrating the discovery of the gunpowder plot and the saving of our Parliament, we are a big enough society to ensure that a four hundred year old tradition is not destroyed by bureaucrats, or spoiled by meaningless teenagers bent on causing annoyance, and at the same time ensure that injuries are kept to an absolute minimum.
_________________________________________________________________
The Shields Gazette reports today of the moves being instigated once again by Council Officials, Police, and Fire Service, to "keep people safe" on this year's bonfire night.
Whilst I am in agreement to a certain extent that injuries ought to be kept to an acceptable minimum, I am becoming increasingly sceptical at the approach of "officialdom" to "safety", so much so that I suspect that the bureaucracy would be quite happy to see Guy Fawkes night celebrations killed off completely. Indeed, the Gazette published a letter from one of it's readers just a few nights ago suggesting just this.
I find the idea quite abhorrent!
The gundowder plot in 1605 was a serious attempt to destroy the democracy that this country enjoyed at the time, if it had succeeded both the sovereign and parliament would have been destroyed. We have celebrated the saving of democracy by lighting bonfires, burning effigies of "Guy", and with firework displays for 400 years. The purpose and values of Guy Fawkes night are as relevant now as they were four centuries ago, yet those in positions of power, up and down the land, seem determined to erase the event from our history books.
Perhaps, as well as visiting schools to remind pupils of how not to handle fireworks and bonfires, the fire service and the police ought to be joining in the dissemination of information about the historical importance of celebrating the countering of the gunpowder plot.
The internet has a richness of source material relating to Guy Fawkes and one of my favourites for children is a flash game on the BBC,
Parliament's own website has a good short article on the plot, and Wikipedia's articles are quite concise.
As a child, I remember that every back lane had at least two bonfires, parents supervised the fires and fireworks, and we enjoyed such treats as baked potatoes and roasted chestnuts. We had spent hours creating a "Guy" and collecting "pennies for the Guy"in order to purchase fireworks. The local fire service may have had a busy night in dowsing fires which had not been properly extinguished, but they coped, with much lesser resources than they have now!
Accidents, however, were common, and the Ingham Infirmary would deal with many minor (and some major) burns. The greatest difference between the 1960's and now of course, is the fact that those who suffered accidental burns would not rush to the nearest solicitor to seek damages! They recognised that they probably contributed something by their own negligence, and besides, we had not yet been visited by "compensation culture" as we know it now.
Two years ago I tried (with official sanction) to organise a small fireworks party and bonfire, complete with food, for a small group of parents and children in my locality. I had found what I considered to be a suitably safe place to hold it and went to the Council to find out what they would require of me; the list was intimidating, a safe "fall out" area of about 100 square metres, safety barriers, two trained first aid attendants, fire extinguishers, a fire safety trained person, third party public liability insurance cover of half a million pounds. You get the picture?
Yes, the officials won the arguement, we did not have a bonfire.
I agree, let's do what we can to keep people safe, and raise the minimum age requirement to purchase fireworks to 21, but let's balance it against the traditions of the occassion. Let's encourage, rather than discourage responsibly organised fireworks parties. Let's provide more, rather than less, largescale official celebrations, and include a bonfire and a Guy.
In short, we ought to able to continue celebrating the discovery of the gunpowder plot and the saving of our Parliament, we are a big enough society to ensure that a four hundred year old tradition is not destroyed by bureaucrats, or spoiled by meaningless teenagers bent on causing annoyance, and at the same time ensure that injuries are kept to an absolute minimum.
About Me
Curly Born in 1956
Sanddancer
Sunderland fan
Male
Retailer
Former Borough Councillor
View my Profile
Contact
Email Curly
south-shields AT
blueyonder DOT co DOT uk
Got a story?
Got a tip off?
Got some scandal?
Let me know!
07941386870
Search
Search this site
Comments
How do I make a comment on this blog?
Links
Curly's Corner Shop website
Curly's Photoshop
My Message Board
Shields photo gallery
RTG Message Board
Sunderland AFC Blog
Site Feed
Blogroll Me!
Past
December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007