November 5, 1605 and the Guy Fawkes Rebellion

Guy Fawkes and his followers tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and James 1 and ever since the cellars of the Parliament Buildings are checked before the state opening of Parliament.  
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But for the average person today, November 5th is Bonfire Night.  This is Britain’s big night of fireworks and bonfires of course!  Often there are effigies of Guy Fawkes burned on top of the bonfires.  What with Diwali and Hallowe’en being just a week or so beforehand, both of which also feature fireworks, you can hear fireworks for a few weeks at this time of year.

London has celebrations at Alexandra Palace, and in Finchley, Harrow, Hackney and Bounds Green to name a few.  Surrey is advertising fireworks at schools and in towns such as Godalming, West Byfleet, Hascombe and Farnham.  There are also events throughout Leicestershire.  Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh are other main cities with fireworks planned.  When summer has faded into autumn and winter is just ahead, it is a good time to have some fun.  You can go to www.skittle.com/bonfire to find out if there is an event in your town.