Remember, Remember the Fifth of November...

[AmyLizzie]

Well, its the fifth of November on Mon and that means Bonfire Night :) The fireworks and fires have started, in fact I can hear them now :) You don't have this in America so I've posted a lickle bit of history for you to look at if you wish, so just to say Happy Bonfire Night to one and all :)

In the U.K., the celebrations take place in towns and villages across the country. They involve fireworks displays and the building of bonfires, on which "guys", or dummies, representing Guy Fawkes, the most infamous of the conspirators, are traditionally burnt. Before the fifth, children traditionally use the "guys" to beg for money with the chant "Penny for the guy".

In the United Kingdom, there are several foods that are traditionally consumed on Guy Fawkes Night:

* black treacle goods such as bonfire toffee and parkin,
* toffee apples, and
* baked potatoes, which are wrapped in foil and cooked in the bonfire or its embers.

In the Black Country, it is a traditional night for eating groaty pudding. (Where I'm from!!)

Also the traditional poem that every English school kid has learnt by heart by the time they are 10!

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up King and Parliament.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

Enjoy ;)

[jtb1951]

Thank you for the history lesson, AmyLizzie! I knew a little bit if the story of Guy Fawkes but now I know more! Enjoy!!:).

John.

[Jennifer]

For a idea of what it's like to be a Catholic boy in England on Guy Fawkes Day, read Tony Hendra's "Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul." I listened to it last spring, read by the author (Tony Hendra was a formidable comedy writer for the likes of National Lampoon, during that organization's heyday) and was very much moved by his experiences growing up Catholic in England.
Jen D.

[AmyLizzie]

Thanks Jen D. I will look it up, sounds interesting xx

[Jennifer]

AmyLizzie,
I was very surprised by the whole book ("Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul")! Tony Hendra has a wonderful dramatic way of telling his story. He's not condemning. He wanted to set off the fireworks for Guy Fawkes like every other English boy was doing! I was on the edge of my seat wondering where his unpredictable story would take him. Hendra was part of the wave of British comedy writers and performers who would continually challenge and lampoon the status quo in Britain. And thankfully, being a writer of scathing satire, he never failed to see the irony in his own life. I listened to the book on cd (read by him) and that added particular poingnancy.
Jen D.

[vicki]

This (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071106/ap_po/paul_fundraising;_ylt=Av.KYR2Uv7Zn9o1Ki6dlV76s0NUE ) is kind of an interesting story connected to Guy Fawkes Day and V is for Vendetta.

[Redneck626]

This was very informative; all I know of Guy Fawkes comes from V For Vendetta...