It's tradition though

 

Hello all. I hope you are ok. I had one of "those" weeks at work which meant an after-work last-minute tea at Wildwood. (See above). Sometimes, it has to be done. We are in November so Halloween is now over - Hurrah! I really don't get it. I'm not a miserable sort. (I am a bit miserable). But I seriously don't get it. Last week I walked to work past a nightclub which thought that this decoration was hilarious. What does that look like to you? I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and assuming that they have not made any connection between this and the lynching it

so strongly resembles. Actually, I am fairly certain that they hadn't made any connection because when I went into work full of indignation, some of the younger people in the office were just puzzled by the whole thing, saying - "well it's just spooky isn't it?" Look, if you want to have a skeleton on your lawn playing the piano, that's up to you, but this is a bit different I think. Is it me?

I saw something this week that said that Halloween is quickly overtaking Bonfire Night in popularity in this country. This isn't helped by cash-strapped local councils who can no longer afford to run local bonfires. Bonfire Night was part of my childhood. It was the last celebration before Christmas and added to the general festive excitement. I don't think I ever went to a council bonfire. Our local bonfire was run by Fletcher's Paper Mill - the biggest local employer. My parents were not employed there but I managed to scam an invite because my friend Janet's sister didn't want to go. (On a side note my friend Janet's house was called after the daughters of the house "Kajamantra" - Karen, Janet, Mandy and Tracey. I thought that was amazing. My mum thought it was common. Different times.) The bonfire itself was magical. We ate parkin (sticks to your teeth). Jousted with sparklers - until we got caught and our mums did that thing where they would pretend through gritted teeth not to be too annoyed and then quietly threaten us with a pasting when we got home. As I said - different times. All the dads would have Arran sweaters and windcheaters and smoke pipes and all the Mums would be gossiping about Ken Shaw who was a singer from Bolton who had come second on Opportunity Knocks and people were saying he was getting airs and graces. The last I heard, he was the resident compere at Blighty's Nightclub in Farnworth. Still - Opportunity Knocks eh?

Obviously, years later I wanted to pass this magical experience on to my children and thought we might pay for a proper display. However, as I lifted my toddler daughter out of the car and held her tiny hand, the first firework went off, she burst into tears and insisted that we get back into the car and go home - thus displaying a profligate attitude toward my money that would continue on to this very day. 

The thing is, unlike American Halloween which is based on, oh I don't know the 1974 version of "It Comes from the Deep and it's in a Mood", the British celebration of horror and torture that is Bonfire Night is based on actual history and is therefore actually quite wholesome and educational. We have the 1605 plot against James I (also popular because of his friendship with his jolly good pal - The Duke of Buckingham), we have torturing the conspirators within an inch of their lives then killing them anyway, and then there's burning effigies of the Pope on the street and who can forget sending our children out begging with those effigies on street corners. everywhere the air was heavy with smoke and the voices of Mums yelling in back gardens "Don't go back to it!" Top-notch celebration. I for one will be sorry to see it go. 

My experience of the church's attitude to these events is that they usually put on better alternatives than some of the originals. I have seen some fantastic light celebration parties with games, songs, brilliant food and bouncy castles which are much better than being dragged from door to door in the street wearing a scream mask and looking in your bucket to find a couple of old Snickers sweets. Churches are also putting on fantastic bonfires. Not the church I worked at. There was a bit of a loosy-goosy approach to Health and Safety which led to an embarrassing and actually probably dangerous incident with a local lady, a rocket and a sari. We didn't do it again. I'll be honest, I don't really bother with these events any longer - which is a shame I think. I have a lot of fond memories as you can see. 

Still, whether you bother with Guy Fawkes or not - it's the last event before the Christmas push begins - unless you work in B&M Bargains where the Christmas shelves went up as the Easter Eggs came down. Have a good week.