Scottish Trivia. Remember Remember the 5th Of November.

Guy Fawkes Night.

I recall Bonfire Night in Scotland with fond memories. We used to go around all our neighbours about three days before the event to gather old wood, furniture etc to build the biggest bonfire in the area. There was no Health and Safety in those days; the kids had a good time and weren’t wrapped up in cotton wool as they are these days.

Fireworks were always expensive, even back then, but parents did fork out and buy some, making the night more special. Watching the fireworks and handling a sparkler was exciting, even though you sometimes got burned with it, ha! Tossing raw potatoes into the fire to eat when they were black was another treat. Yeah, it sounds unappetising, but I can assure you it was the best baked potato you ever had.

I had a strange experience around a bonfire one night. I was alone, it was pitch black, and only the night was present, in our back Green, which was a vast area of overgrown weeds and grass, neglected by the Council. I am sure I felt something push me, and I ended up in the fire. I escaped with a singed jumper and scared senseless. I ran up to the flat and never looked back. It could have been that I got dizzy and fell in, but who knows? It was just after the witching hour, after all.

Nowadays in the UK, everything is organised. Fireworks displays are handled by experienced people, and you have to pay for the privilege. However, I loved the old days when you could do your own stuff and enjoy the spoils.

Happy 5th of November, folks…

History of Guy Fawkes. United Kingdom.

Guy Fawkes was an English Catholic soldier best known for his involvement in the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Born in York in 1570, he converted to Catholicism and became a mercenary, fighting for Catholic Spain in the Netherlands. Due to his military expertise, he was recruited by the plot’s true mastermind, Robert Catesby, to join a group of conspirators who were profoundly unhappy with the Protestant King James I and the lack of religious tolerance for Catholics in England. The ultimate goal of the conspiracy was to assassinate the King and Parliament by blowing up the House of Lords during its State Opening on 5 November 1605, and then install the King’s young daughter, Princess Elizabeth, as a Catholic figurehead.

Fawkes was tasked with the most crucial role: guarding and setting the fuse for the 36 barrels of gunpowder that had been stockpiled in an undercroft beneath the House of Lords. The plot was foiled when an anonymous letter warned Lord Monteagle, leading to a search of the cellars. Fawkes was discovered and arrested in the early hours of 5 November, with his dark lantern and matches ready. He was taken to the Tower of London, where he was subjected to torture, eventually revealing the names of his co-conspirators. He was tried, convicted of high treason, and executed in January 1606. The failure of the plot has been commemorated ever since as Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes Night) on 5 November, with fireworks and the burning of Guy Fawkes effigies.