This time of year is so exciting here. The nights are getting longer, the days cooler and there is excitement in the air.

Every Nov 5, the British set off fireworks, light bonfires, and burn effigies of Guy Fawkes to celebrate the foiling of the 1605 plot in which Roman Catholics tried to blow up the Parliament and kill King James 1. Guy Fawkes was one of the conspirators and is said to be the last man to have entered the English Parliament with honorable intentions. This year marked the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot.

Alexander loves non-fiction books so we got him a little one about Guy Fawkes and he has been reading up on the Gunpowder Plot for the last few weeks.

Where we used to live at Blackheath had arguably the best bonfire night fireworks displays in London, but the traffic/parking to get there would have been far to difficult. So instead, on Saturday night, Patrick took the kids to see the fireworks display at the local police club.

It was a family display so there was a big fun fair and a fireworks display. There were no bonfires or burning of effigies though, which might have frightened the kids. It frightened me when I saw this in Lewes (near Brighton) on Bonfire night some years ago, where they have a big procession and burnt crucifixes and effigies of Guy Fawkes and the Pope.

We thought Margie might be frightened of the fireworks, so I kept her at home. From the house I was able to see several very good fireworks displays, so I certainly didn't miss out!

Some links:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A199488
http://www.bonefire.org/guy/index.php