Remember, Remember the 5th of November …
Yes, it's that day again—Guy Fawkes, when we get to enjoy fireworks, light bonfires and burn the heinous Guido Fawkes in effigy all over again!
I'll put my hand up for loving fireworks, and bonfires are always great—although I can probably dispense with burning anyone in effigy, even a man over five hundred years dead! Not cool, at all …
I really do love fireworks though—although I'm not sure if there'll be any in my backyard this year, simply because everything's dry as a bone at the moment and we're also on water rationing, because of the combination of that and earthquakes. So a stray spark could really be 'not the go' at all.
The Royal Fireworks Suite
But that doesn't mean I can't reflect on some of my favourite fireworks and fireworks related things, like:
Catherine wheels—my favourites since I was a kid—and sky rockets
Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks Suite (I'll definitely have to play that tonight, once it gets dark)
the bonfires that get lit everywhere on the night of 30 April—Valborgsmassafton—in Sweden; a spring festival, I know, but the bonfires are magical
the description of Gandalf's fireworks in the early part of the Lord of the Rings (a passage that rather makes me suspect that the great JRR loved fireworks, too)—in fact, there's a rather nice piece at the beginning of The Hobbit as well …
"Not the man that used to make such particularly excellent fireworks! I remember those! Old Took used to have them on Midsummer's Eve. Splendid! They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening!"
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And here is the fireworks display from the long-awaited party, in Chapter 1 of The Lord of the Rings:
"There were rockets like a flight of scintillating birds singing with sweet voices. There were green trees with trunks of dark smoke: their leaves opened like a whole spring unfolding in a moment, and their shining branches dropped glowing flowers down upon the astonished hobbits, disappearing with a sweet scent just before they touched their upturned faces. There were fountains of butterflies that flew glittering into the trees: there were pillars of coloured fire that rose and turned into eagles, or sailing ships, or a phalanx of flying swans; there was a red thunderstorm and a shower of yellow rain; there was a forest of silver spears that sprang suddenly into the air with a yell like an embattled army, and came down again into the Water with a hiss like a hundred hot snakes. And there was also one last surprise, in honour of Bilbo, and it startled the hobbits exceedingly, as Gandalf intended. The lights went out. A great smoke went up. It shaped itself like a mountain seen in the distance, and began to glow at the summit. It spouted green and scarlet flames. Out flew a red-golden dragon — not life size, but terribly life-like: fire came from his jaws, his eyes glared down; there was a roar, and he whizzed three times over the heads of the crowd. They all ducked, and many fell flat on their faces. The dragon passed like an express train, turned a somersault, and burst over Bywater with a deafening explosion."
Marvellous stuff, isn't it? And doesn't it make you wish that you were there to see it? Me, I shall be contenting myself with the Fireworks Suite and maybe a few sparklers … (I don't even know if you can get Catherine Wheels anymore.)
But how about you? What are some of your November 5 favourites?
