Bonfire Night in Birmingham

It is the 5th of November. And I am in England. That means it is Guy Fawkes Night.  To quote Wikipedia, it "marks the downfall of the Gunpowder Plot of 5 November 1605, in which a number of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to destroy the Houses of Parliament."

Strange thing to celebrate for over 400 years, but it is an excuse to light massive fires and set off fireworks - everywhere - so why not?

My first year in England was in 2006 and as daylight savings ended and November 5th approached, fireworks were being let off all over the place in outer North London suburbia where I was living. Firwroks aren't illegal here, and you can buy them at the supermarket.  I didn't understand the fireworks craze at the time, but it all culminated on Guy Fawkes night, when my friends took me to "Ally Pally" (Alexandra Park, which has a palace in the middle of it) to see one of London's largest fireworks displays. I liked the tradition of rugging up and seeing the festivities.

My second Autumn in London, last year, I was living in Clapham. Friends and I headed down to Clapham Common to see the fireworks but missed it due to a timing issue. The crowds on the High Street were an experience in themselves though.

This year I am living in inner London Rotherhithe, right near a large park called Southwark Park. So I was looking forward to seeing the big fireworks display there. But I ended up having to go to Birmingham for a business meeting in the afternoon, and by the time I got back to London it was all over. Though I did get to see quite a few massive bonfires by the train tracks on the way back to London.

Walking home from Bermondsey station, I had never seen so many people in the area. Bonfire night really does bring out the people. I noticed how mild the weather is this year. The previous two years I had been very rugged up for the freezing conditions outside this time of the year - and that's how I know November in London is already bloody cold. But it's not too cold at all this year. Not that I'm complaining.

I look forward to catching one of  the fireworks displays on Saturday night instead, although as I write this, I can hear constant fireworks outside, from people exploding their supermarket fireworks....as they probably will well into the night.