Photo-a-Day  (Thursday, 7th November, 2013)

Lovely Dave....not allowed here.....so nice to see after all the years away...cheers!!!

Its a bit dark.

very atmospheric. I like it!

I think it was taken at night! Mick

It is a long,long time ago since we left Wigan,but every november the 5th,I remember thw big,big bonfire ,we kids made on bithells field, on mesnes road, where the brocket arms is now .
I dont ever remember it raining on nov.5th in those days!happy memories.

Shouldn't be allowed here either! Pollution and noise from fireworks. Pointless waste of cash and damaging to environment.
Taxmans laughing all the way to the bank from stuff thats gone up in smoke.

Totally agree Linda, the tax is the only reason fireworks haven't been banned which they rightly should be, they not only bother domestic animals, but wildlife too, with a lot of animals dying from sheer terror as the volume of explosions is like a military bombardment.

The lighting of and the gathering of folks around bonfires as the dark nights come around go back to pagan times, November the 5th has nothing whatsoever to do with Guy Fawkes, he was hung, drawn and quartered and not burned, it's a pagan festival these folks are celebrating.

I can remember The Rector having a bommie and fireworks behind The Rectory in the 50's.A good show it was.

Like a Rembrandt.

I can remember going out about 6 o'clock on bonfire night wearing a coat, mittens and a knitted bonnet over ribboned plaits, with the smell of cordite in the air...oh, the excitement! I can remember my dad saying, "Owd Mon! Ah'm cowder than 'im 'in t'park!", (meaning the statue of Sir Francis Sharp-Powell), then setting fire yet again to the backyard gate with a Catherine Wheel. I remember him setting a Jumping-Jack off in the house...what a pandemonium THAT caused! I realise that organised displays are safer, but oh how thankful I am to have known what it is to "collect fer't bommy", dragging wood home along the back entries on misty October Saturdays, and eating not-quite-done potatoes straight from the bonfire with Summer County margarine and salt. The next morning was always misty, and the spent fireworks in the damp grass were "treasure" to collect before we turned our thoughts to Christmas.

Irene..that sound very similar to our bonfire night..and I can vividly remember bed-time later on standings at my bedroom window and being very sad at the end of the night..the bonfire was right facing my window and the feeling of sadness would stay with me for a few days,and similar to what you said,looking at the remnants the next day didn't help..but oh how we all looked forward to the next one..Dave I love that shot it brings it brings it all back.

Irene with you for sure with that comment .

Irene, thank you for your comment,you brought back memories so vividly that I was transported back in time. You write so well the little details,Summer County , the Catherine Wheel on the gate ,invoke such strong sentiments that I could almost smell the cordite. David ,thanks to you too for posting such an interesting and thought provoking photograph.

Thankyou, alan and Maureen. I took the memories from an article I wrote for Past Forward some years ago, and oh, Maureen, how you echo my sentiments! I too would look out of the back bedroom window at the dying bonfire, and wonder if things would still be the same next year. But of course time moved on. The childen grew up and I wrote at the end of the article how I would look out at the embers and recall Our Jamie capering round the bonfire with a voice like a foghorn, and Our Ashley wearing her little red duffel-coat and waving a sparkler in the night, and how the words of Robert Louis Stevenson would whirl in my head all day:
"For long ago, the truth to say,
He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air
That lingers in the garden there."
I do it still.

Exactly Irene. A couple of Miseries posted before you I see. I wonder if their thought now are the same as when they were young (if they ever were).

And poking about next day trying to get the embers to go again.

What a lot of misery about something I remember with a great deal of fondness! Bonfire night was magic, something which we didn't have when I was very young, because of the war,so even more appreciated when at last the war was over!

Irene ,thank you for invoking memories ,as I've said before you have such a talent for painting a picture with words, the little details ,Summer County ,the Catherine Wheel on the gate,bring thoughts of childhood, and in a moment I'am transported back 60years.
David, thank you for posting such an interesting and thought provoking photograph. You have a great skill with the camera.

What people dont remember is the stuff that got burned on the bomfire was stuff like old couches and chairs and all us little kids where breathing in all that toxic smoke.

And they dont remember how many kids got blinded by fireworks and how many cats had bangers tied to there tails, which is not a easy to do with just some old string.

Thank you to every one on here that has brought it all back to me....much love in treacle toffee to you all .....cheers!!!

Mick, Linda, Cyril.....I am passionate about animals and in all honesty don't particularly like fireworks nowadays, and realise that there will always be the sad element of society who prey on the vulnerable, but the memories posted above by me are the memories of a child in the early 1960s.....a child growing up in a loving home who as yet doesn't realise the harsh realities; she just sees the boxes of fireworks and the bonfire, the parkin and treacle toffee dished out by gossiping Mams, the old sofa she sat on which eventually joined the flames and the excitement of being out in the dark , frosty night with a half-crown torch from the papershop flickering on backyard walls. The realities of Life come all too soon; let the child enjoy it whilst she can and let her childhood memories be happy ones. I sadly see things differently now, and can appreciate your comments, but my innocent memories remain precious, and always will.

Irene , can you remember which issue of Past Forward your article on bonfire night is in. For others interested you can obtain back copies of the magazine on line , Irene has written some fantastic stories, one I would recommended in particular is "My Mothers Eyes",perhaps Irene ,you could also give the number of this issue .Thank you

Thankyou for those kind words, Tom. The bonfire article is in issue 32 on page 28; when you get to the bottom of the page it seems to be the end of the article but it actually ends on page 29. "My Mother's Eyes" is in issue 52.

I'm glad my photo brought some good memories. As for fireworks - there aren't any in my photo - one reason being that I share the view that they should be restricted to professionally organised displays.

.....and don`t forget the parkin cake!
Oh how i have loved reading and sharing my own memories,

Thankyou Jean. It has been lovely to share memories. My Grandchildren's other grandma, "Nanny Ann", died two years ago, and on "bommy night", when my son let off rockets, Edie and Oliver shouted up to the night sky, "Look at this one, Nanny!", and my heart broke.

Sadly times have changed. Bonfire night these days is nothing like it was when I was a child. Yobs have seen to that.
I also know of several veterans who've served in various conflicts other who dread November the fifth. Their nerves already shattered - the explosions bring it all back. Two of them actually hide under the stairs when the bangs start. Obviously they don't want to spoil others enjoyment, but its something to be considered.

Nice one Dave. Now this is something a do miss- Bommy night.