Guy Fawkes and the Enthusiastic County Fair

Guy Fawkes is a holiday celebrated in London on the fifth of November. It celebrates Guy Fawkes and his followers' attempt at blowing up Parliament and the King at the time. The king was Protestant but Guy Fawkes and co. were Catholic and thought that once the government of England was gone Spain could take over, since they were also Catholics.

If you know the poem that starts with "Remember, Remember, the fifth of November," it is about Guy Fawkes. Or of you saw the movie "V for Vendetta" that is about him too.

The Brits commemorate Guy Fawkes by making a giant bonfire and throwing effigies of Guy into the flames and watching him burn away... Wow. That's not dark or anything.

I decided that I wanted to experience Guy Fawkes Day, or Bonfire Night, properly and go to an event for it. For some reason making a fire in a trashcan in my room just did not sound like it would do the day justice. (Or that it would be up to fire code.)


My flatmates and I ended up finding out about a big fireworks display that they were going to have in the nearby park and on the days leading up to November the third (it was moved to the weekend so more people could attend) lots of carnival rides started to appear in the park.

When we arrived at the festival today, we were greeted by a huge crowd of people that just seemed confused as to what they were doing. Several police, or people in yellow hi lighter jackets, directed everyone which lines to go to, but there was still a lot of general confusion. We paid for our tickets and entered a vast expanse of green grass.

The rides and attractions for the county fair like festival were very far away, and you had to track through strange sinking pits of mid on your way to the rides.

Once up to the rides, everything had a bizarre name. The machine, typically called the 'Scrambler', actually lacked a name, and the 'Merry-Go-Round' was called something like 'Golden Galloping Horses Patronized By Nobility of Great Britain'.

Can I be honest? That is a horrible name for a children's carnival ride. The parents will lean down to ask their over-zealous kid which ride theory want to go on first and then they have to spit out that whole mouth full of words? No, they will probably just call it the horse ride.

But there was also a fun house, a 'movie roller coaster' (the coaster did not move just a screen made it look like it did), spinning teacups, swings for children, something called 'Body Rock', and a ride reminiscent of an American one called 'Avalanche'. They were clearly missing a few key carnival rides like the 'Drop Zone' but they clearly were trying.

The food selection was limited as well. There were two 'Mulled Wine' stands, two candy stands, three classic British food stands, an American food stand, and a Donut/Cookie stand. There was also live music put on by a local radio station.

Amy bought some candy floss, or cotton candy, and ate out while we all discussed how they recalled needed some funnel cake there.

They evening's event then started as a large group of people gathered near the giant pile of wood that they would later burn. There were too any people to see clearly, but it seemed like there was a small play being put on were people with lit up helmets fought each other. I am not sure if that had to do with Guy Fawkes or is just something they chose to do for fun. There was someone talking while it went on but the live music kept going and drowned out anything they said. Although you could distinctly hear a bagpipe playing.

Afterwards, the fireworks began, which to be honest, I thought would not be very good. I just kept thinking of the fourth of July at home and how this would probably not be as good, but it actually was. I was very impressed, as were some college students near me who kept saying, 'Wow', 'Amazing', and 'That's like a proper planet'.

Then it was time for the flames. These two men in yellow coats lit some giant torches and then showed them deep into the pile of wood. The wood was actually set to look like some kind of giant throne with the Guy Fawkes Mask sitting on top of it.

Seconds after they lit it, the entire seat of the throne had caput on fire and blazed briefly before us. The back wall then lit and actually tumbled down into the seat area, taking the mask with it. Several cheers erupted from the crowd. The flames grew larger and larger as the wind powered it. I could actually feel the heat from it on my face while standing behind the barrier from the flames and a good distance into the crowd.

We stayed to watch the fire for a while, until the two sides fell in also and then headed home to eat some hot soup and grilled cheese sandwiches after such a chilly evening (besides the toasty fire that is).

It was a very fun and eventful evening, and it rekindled my love of Great Britain. The whole Halloween thing had me a bit down, but this definitely restarted it. I also think this might be England's equivalent of the 4th of July. Fireworks, classic food, and carnival rides? Sounds about right to me.

Until next time...

Embrace the Odd,
Caitlin

"I don't care what it is, when it has an LCD screen, it makes it better." -Kevin Rose