Is Bomfire night getting worse or am I just getting older?

I suspect things were worse in the 17th and 18th Century, because you wouldn't have firecrackers, you would have mobs of yobs running around TRYING TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT and having riots and shouting about Wilkes and anti-Poperie and stuff like that.

So the toffee apples and the cute stuff for kids is the aberration, not the yobs.

Re: Bonfire night....

We got away from the traditional message of burning catholics and now its all about blowing up post boxes which of course are a representation of the queen so now instead of celebrating the foiling of a papist plot......

Little Johnny
"me and me mate shoved bangers up dogs' assholes miss"

Teacher
"Rectum Johnny"

Little Johnny
"aye miss, Fuckin' near blew them apart!"

Normally, the Newport ones seem to be one bloke walking along a line of fireworks setting them off slowly so it really doesn't make a lot of sense, but Cwmbran seemed to have organised and seemed to set off a number of different fireworks simultaneously, which made all the difference. Mind you, the best part of it was our 2 yr old nephew who was with us and was bouncing around like an Ewok on speed lovin' it like mad.

There was a bonfire going outside a derelict tower block on the way home. A wee kid was trying to push a shopping trolley into it.

Our dog would've had a coronary if he was still around. That was the worst part. It really used to scare the hell out of him.

The one thing that has certainly chainged is that it goes on for longer - <1 week when i ws a kid, >1month now.

yep, anyone who doesn't rate bonfire night needs to go to lewes! it's bedlam, kids firing fireworks at each other in the street, exploding barrels, burning crosses, 5 huge bonfires + displays, plus banners all down the high strees saying 'NO POPERY.' the anti-catholic thing would be slightly disturbing except it clearly means less than nothing to almost everyone there. down the road in firle they burnt a replica travellers' caravan this year, that's really not good.

More OTM as an effigy was a gigantic green king representing er, Greene King, who are putting their own landlords into local pubs and stopping them selling Harveys. Now THAT'S sacriligious.

YORKSHIRE PARKIN Recipe 2

Susan Reddy

Parkin: A moist ginger cake usually served cut in squares. It originated in Yorkshire, where oatmeal is always used in its preparation.

4ozs lard or margarine
4ozs golden syrup
4ozs black treacle
4ozs sugar
8ozs plain flour
8ozs medium oatmeal
pinch of salt
4 teasp. ground ginger
2 teasp. ground cinnamon
1 teasp. bicarb. of soda
1 egg

UK teaspoons are about half the size of US teaspoons, so in USA use about half the amount given for ginger, cinnamon & baking soda.

Heat the oven to 300 degrees F. or gas mark 1.
Melt the fat. Add the syrup, treacle & sugar & warm over a very low heat till the sugar begins to dissolve, avoid overheating the mixture, keeping the saucepan warm rather than hot. Sieve the dry ingredients, make a well in the centre & gradualy beat in the liquid from the saucepan & the beaten egg. Mix to a soft consistency, adding a little milk if required. Pour into a greased flat tin so that the mixture is 1 inch in depth. Bake for 1 hour in a cool oven (300 degrees,or mark 1) and partly cool it in the tin, then turn out to finish cooling. Serve the parkin cut into squares. If you can't find black treacle - use molasses it's similar. Some overseas grocery stores do sell Tate & Lyles Golden Syrup (a UK product). If it's not available, pancake syrup is probably the closest thing to it, but the taste will not be the same, Golden Syrup is made from cane sugar not corn syrup.

If in doubt, bake for 5 minutes less, it tastes awful if burnt !

From here. I used Beef dripping for the fat.

i fear for the parts of the world without easy access to golden syrup...

holy shit that's unbelievable! this is the worst thing i've ever heard.

Glasgow Green, hope Suzie fucking MacGuire ain't hosting this one.

It's all about the oohs and the ahhs innit?

Mind you, we did have a series of monumental bangs for Diwali from the Hindu family next door (or Them Next Door) which scared the crap out of sleeping Ava.

How can you say getting WORSE? Don't you mean getting BETTER? Of course, this was my first Bonfire night, but I thought it was pretty sweet.
-- Mandee (Wolfshir...), November 7th, 2003 11:13 AM.

Aw, this made me a bit sad. That was a great night.

not true! i heard a mum saying to her child on wednesday that they were going to have parkin and the kid was all "mmm, yummy!" and the woman had a v strong london accent.

Apparently the caravan represented one specific group of travellers who have been fucking up the countryside there lately but still...

with the numberplate reading "PIKEY 1"...

i fucking love fireworks, and fires, and toffee apples, and small children running round like little shaken up bottles of pop. i think this year we may head for vicky park.

More like bonfire 'three fucking weeks straight' from 7pm till 1am
in the morning, continual Dresden soundtrack, starts with Diwali and goes on and on until the shops run out of fireworks.

Forgive me for being a grouch, but I really hate it and I'm sure folk have no consideration for people's poor old pets either.

fireworks are teh pwn. BANG!

My adult cat has been hiding under the duvet every evening for the last week. Kitten isn't remotely bothered though! He even still sleeps on a box next to the window while they're going off!

I love a good fireworks display and I don't mind a few nights in a row, but it's been going on for two weeks now and has gotten very old.