Bonfire Night

“'I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone.'
'I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!'”

From The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

If you know anything about British history you are probably aware of a holiday in November called Guy Fawkes Day (aka Bonfire Night) - "Remember, remember the 5th of November" - ? Sound familiar? If not I'll give you the Reading Rainbow version of the plot (minus the 'read it to find out the ending' part). in 1605 Protestants had pretty much reached dominance over Catholics in the aftermath of the Tudor bloodbath (you know, Bloody Mary and Queen Elizabeth? If you don't know about this than you need to pick up a history book and refresh your memory, this is not a 'history for dummies' blog). However, there were still come Catholics that weren't happy about the situation. Soooo, they decided to blow up the English Parliament building! To accomplish this the rebels put a bunch of gunpowder kegs under the House of Lords. Before the plot was enacted the government was warned and they stormed the cellar where they found Guy Fawkes with the kegs. Fawkes was killed and ever since that day the Brits have lit bonfires, burned effigies of Guy Fawkes, and held 4th of July style fireworks displays in commemoration.
Everyone (that might be hyperbole) in Great Britain celebrates Bonfire night, though I think it has less to do with a Patriotic feeling than with liking to set things on fire. My friends and I decided that we wanted to make an event of it and bought tickets to see the fireworks at Kenilworth Castle.

After having dinner at a local restaurant, Katherine, Allison, Anni and I arrived at the castle and we were immediately herded along a dark crowded path towards...somewhere. At last we reached a hill from which we got glimpses of Kenilworth Castle. We slipped and skidded down the muddy hill, valiantly attempted to not fall on our buts as we wove our way through the crowd to an open space with a good view.
We had missed the lighting of the massive bonfire but got to enjoy its intense glow as we waited for the fireworks display to start.

In many ways the whole experience reminded me of the 4th of July, except for a few key features. Yet these features made the event quintessentially British.
In America we wait outside to see fireworks on a warm, buggy July night where it doesn't get dark enough to start until almost 10pm
In England we wait on a a cold November evening where we have to rush from 5pm dinner reservations to make sure that we make it in time for the lighting of the bonfire and the fireworks.
In America we would set up our chairs and blankets on the field (boat, or car, etc), debating whither we should put on our long sleeved shirt to keep the bugs from eating us alive.
In England we have winter coats, scarfs, and gloves on as we huddle together for warmth. Because of the perpetual rain, the ground is slightly wet so our frozen toes must grip the slippery mud under our feet to keep from sliding into the people in front of us.
In America rain causes fireworks to be cancelled.
In England it seems only fitting that halfway through the show a light rain begins to drench the spectators.
Yet no matter the country there is something so exciting about the boom, crackle, and sizzle as fireworks explode in a rainbow of colors about ones head.

It is more common in Europe to have music play during the fireworks display than it is in America. For many, the judge of a good show isn't the intensity of the display itself but how well it is coordinated with the music. This show had extremely interesting choices in music. They seemed to have decided for a blast from the past. For me the highlights include the slow ballad "And I Will Always Love You" with heart shaped fireworks and Spice Girls "Spice Up Your Life" that had fireworks shooting left when the lyrics said 'Slam Me to the Left, If You're Having a Good Time,' to the right when they sang 'Shake It To The Right, If You Know That You Feel Fine,' and straight up when they added 'Chicas To The Front, Huh Huh Go Round.' Classic. Once the show was complete we struggled through the mud up the hill where at one point Katherine nearly fell but caught herself before she became completely covered in mud.
Once free of the crowd we met up with our friend Adam and went to my first authentic British pub, complete with Karaoke in the background. What made it an authentic British pub, you may ask? One word: Tiny. This was exemplified in several areas. First, I'm pretty sure that the place used to be a house (a very narrow house) and second, the bar served only the basics (anything beyond beer was questionable). We had a great time but as we left the pub what did we see driving down the road? Yep, our bus. The one that only came once an hour this late at night! Now we had to wait an hour for the next one, Katherine really wanted to catch a cab but I'm too cheap to to pay for a cab when I have a bus pass and one would come eventually! Thankfully Anni was of a similar mindset, so we waited. Adam and Allison were going to go to Lemington Spa (a town on the opposite side of Kenilworth from campus/Coventry) and party some more but the British gentleman in Adam just couldn't leave us at the bus stop! It was extremely funny to see the conflict in his nature as we repeatedly told him that we would be fine waiting on our own! Finally the bus came and we settled into our seats for the long (45+ minutes!) back home. It had been a long, but fun, evening.