Remember Remember The 5th of November.

Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in Great Britain.

In My Great Britain, Bonfire Night is associated with the tradition of celebrating the failure of Guy Fawkes’ actions on 5 November 1605. The British festival is, therefore, on 5 November, although some commercially driven events are held at a weekend near to the correct date, to maximise attendance. Bonfire night’s Sectarian significance has generally been lost: it is now usually just a night of revelry with a bonfire and fireworks, although an effigy of Guy Fawkes is burned on the fire. Celebrations are held throughout Great Britain; in some non-Catholic communities in Northern Ireland] and in some other parts of the Commonwealth. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and labrador 5 November is commemorated with bonfires and firework displays,] and it is officially celebrated in South Africa.

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In Northern Ireland, the term “Bonfire Night” can refer to the Eleventh Night celebrations of 11 July. Like 5 November, this Bonfire Night also has its roots in the sectarian struggle between Protestants and Catholics. Unlike 5 November the sectarian significance of 11 July is still strong. It celebrates the Battle of Boyne of 1690, in which the Protestant William of Orange defeated the Catholic James II.

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In rural parts of the Republic of Ireland “Bonfire Night” refers to 23 June,St Johns Eve night. It has its origins in a religious celebration and originally featured prayers for bountiful crops. The night is linked to the Summer Solstice or Midsummer Eve Originally fires were lit to honor the goddess Aine as part of a Celtic celebration; the Catholic Church took over the pagan festival and linked it to the birth of Saint John.

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So- even though I am thousands of miles from my Motherland, there is always a way to celebrate some of the traditional things where ever you are located.

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So, we shall light a bonfire at the back in our garden and have some real Traditional food to celebrate this time of year, although the only thing missing is the fireworks but we have the 4th of July for that.

Lots of traditional things still exist and I like to celebrate them and what better than a nice Bonfire and Food to eat, that is always a sweet deal.

 

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Here is some pics of the traditional grub that us Brits scoff on this day in History.

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Jacket potatoes is a Must for Bonfire night, many cool them right in the Bonfire, I have Heinz Beans on mine.

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We have Toffee apples too of which I have seen many here.

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So, if you want to know how the fireworks like like back home, here is a snippet.

It’s Bonfire Night, remembering Guy Fawkes!

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot…

 

As kids we would build a image of Guy Fawkes and then put him in a wheel barrow, Go Kart or a pram and have a cup or tin with “Penny For the guy” written on it and we would collect a few quid to be able to buy fireworks for the evening, you made the bonfire as high as you could and then placed the Guy on the Bonfire and then it was time to light it and the fireworks, as well as have jacket potatoes, Warm soups and enjoy the crackle of the fire and the sound of the air bomb repeaters as they exploded in the sky.

 

As kids, we would let off fireworks, either at home or, more fun was out with your mates. “Quick- Run”

 

If you’ve seen “V for Vendetta,” you’re well acquainted with the rhyme about Guy Fawkes, who famously tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament on Nov. 5, 1605. But more than 400 years later, the real-life revolutionary is still remembered today with “Bonfire Night,” also known as Guy Fawkes Night (or Guy Fawkes Day) in the UK.

Why? Why do we need to remember the 5th? And why has Fawkes’ face been used as a mask in a movie, or appropriated by the hacker group known as Anonymous?

According to The Telegraph, Fawkes was caught trying to smuggle 36 barrels of gunpowder into a cellar of the House of Lords in an attempt to completely destroy the building. He was part of a group of Roman Catholic activists attempting to kill King James I, a Protestant, after 45 years of perceived persecution under Queen Elizabeth.

According to Business Insider, a politician tipped off authorities to the Gunpowder Plot and Fawkes was caught in the act. He was interrogated (and likely tortured) at the Tower of London until he gave up his co-conspirators — eight days later.

Fawkes was reportedly hanged, drawn, and quartered for his crimes, with his remains sent to the four corners of the kingdom as a warning to anyone else who tried the same.

The Independent describes Bonfire Night as a celebration of the foiling of Fawkes’ assassination attempt. In 1605, when word spread, the public lit bonfires around London, and the tradition continues today with bonfires, fireworks and the burning of Fawkes in effigy. However, others believe some use the day to honor the failed attempt to murder the royal family.

In the Wachowskis’ 2005 film “V for Vendetta” (and the ’80s graphic novel of the same name), a freedom fighter named “V” (Hugo Weaving) wears a Fawkes mask while rallying support (from Natalie Portman and others) in an attempt to overthrow a futuristic British tyranny.

“Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished,” the character alliteratively explains of his decision to wear the mask. “However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.”

Fawkesian masks have since become a symbol of the “post-modern protest,” according to the Economist. “Hacktivist” group Anonymous rose to worldwide fame in 2008 when it targeted the Church of Scientology’s website while members wore Fawkes masks in online videos.

The Economist reports Anonymous chose the mask for two reasons: To protect their identities (and remain “anonymous”) and because of the final scene in “V for Vendetta,” in which (spoiler alert) a large crowd of people wearing Fawkes masks watch Parliament successfully blown up.

The mask has also been worn by Occupy protestors and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and continues to be a popular Halloween costume today. In short, few have forgotten Fawkes — even if they don’t necessarily know of the Gunpowder Plot.

 

 


 

 

This is what we do back home on this day-evening.

 

If you ever get to the UK at this time of year, head down to LEWES as its the best there is in tradition, with up to 60,000 people attending.

You can make this such a fun family affair by making great food to eat on this special celebration.


Have a nice Chocolate Flake Bonfire cake.

Good old Toffee Apples.

Bonfire cup Cakes.

Hot Chestnuts, used to love buying them from guy in Oxford Street.

Good old jacket potatoes.

You used to throw your potato in the Bonfire and it tasted awesome.

Have a safe ,but Fun Fireworks night to you all.

Remember, Remember! The Fifth of November! Happy Fireworks Night all.

 

 

Hey There everyone

Well first off, Happy guy Fawkes day, and many of you reading this may not know what the hell I am ranting on about- as I am a Brit, this was and still is a strong tradition back home and as a kid, one of the most exciting times ( Other than Christmas and birthdays.) of the year, as there will be fireworks shows at night and in peoples back garden, a little on the July 5th style but every body will be getting ready tonight to light their bonfire and put the guy on top of the fire and set that thing alight.

 

As a kid we used to dress a Guy up and you could earn a few quid by doing what people still do today on fireworks night, ahh memories!

 

 

For me as a kid, this was a brilliant time, getting ya mates who were 16 years old to buy you fireworks with your dinner money and let off bangers in and around the estate was such a laugh, you all knew about the history of this infamous Guy Fawkes but for us as teenagers, it was all about explosions and bright lights.

I loved the 3.2.1. bangers, simply light, count down and throw , dangerous as hell and still is but kids will be kids and boy did we have fun back then, standing sometimes and facing each other with a roman candle in each others hands and standing opposite your mate and see who can stand there the longest, utter nuts I know but it was almost addictive as a kid in the 1970’s for me and my mates.

Of course, family, school and tv saying Fireworks are dangerous, made it even more intriguing back then but jeez, looking back now, how none of us lost an arm or an eye- amazes me.

But the spirit remains the same back home in the UK, even the the Gunpowder plot failed, it is remembered hundreds of years later and still celebrated to its fullest.

So what is this poem or verse I hear you say every year and what is the significance or at least an explanation?  Well I shall try to explain for those who want to read about it, the verse is below.

English Folk Verse (c.1870)

            The Fifth of November

 

    Remember, remember!
    The fifth of November,
    The Gunpowder treason and plot;
    I know of no reason
    Why the Gunpowder treason
    Should ever be forgot!
    Guy Fawkes and his companions
    Did the scheme contrive,
    To blow the King and Parliament
    All up alive.
    Threescore barrels, laid below,
    To prove old England’s overthrow.
    But, by God’s providence, him they catch,
    With a dark lantern, lighting a match!
    A stick and a stake
    For King James’s sake!
    If you won’t give me one,
    I’ll take two,
    The better for me,
    And the worse for you.
    A rope, a rope, to hang the Pope,
    A penn’orth of cheese to choke him,
    A pint of beer to wash it down,
    And a jolly good fire to burn him.
    Holloa, boys! holloa, boys! make the bells ring!
    Holloa, boys! holloa boys! God save the King!
    Hip, hip, hooor-r-r-ray!

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  • Of all the plots and conspiracies that ever entered into the mind of man, the Gunpowder plot stands pre-eminent in horror and wickedness. The singular perseverance of the conspirators is shown by the fact, that so early as in Lent of the year 1603, Robert Catesby, who appears to have been the prime mover of the plot, in a conversation with Thomas Wintour and John Wright, first broke with them about a design for delivering England from her bondage, and to replant the Catholic religion.
    • “‘A Brief History of “The Gunpowder Plot” from The Amulet (1828)

 

  • Guy Fawkes was a man of desperate character. In his person he was tall and athletic, his countenance was manly, and the determined expression of his features was not a little heightened by a profusion of brown hair, and an auburn-coloured beard. He was descended from a respectable family in Yorkshire, and having soon squandered the property he inherited at the decease of his father, his restless spirit associated itself with the discontented and factious of his age.
    • “‘A Brief History of “The Gunpowder Plot” from The Amulet (1828)

Vote Guy Fawkes — The Only Man Ever To Enter Parliament With Honest Intentions

 

As soon as the noose settled around his neck, Guy Fawkes broke free from the hangman and jumped off the scaffolding — guaranteeing a quick drop with a stop sharp enough to break his neck cleanly.

Sudden death seems like an odd goal for a man to reach in a hurry. Until you consider the alternative…

(Ironically, in a way, it’s an early example of government not being able to get anything right. Not even a hanging.)

Guy had just watched his fellow English-Catholic conspirators hanged until nearly dead (with emphasis on nearly.) Then they were cut down. Their most private parts and entrails were removed and burned before their eyes. Finally, they were beheaded.

This all would have happened to Guy Fawkes, too…except wily Guy made sure he was too dead to notice.

What offense warranted this extreme torture and dismemberment?

Guy and his co-conspirators felt that the crown made life miserable for the Catholic minority in England. In truth, the crown was doing exactly that.

So on the 5th of November, 1605, Guy and his buddies planned to ignite the three-dozen barrels of gunpowder they’d packed under Parliament. Their plan was… simply enough… to blow up the king.

Known as a man “highly skilled in matters of war,” Guy’s job was to light the match. Afterwards, he planned to escape across the Thames. But an anonymous letter warning of the plot was sent to the King.

When the Master at Arms went to check out the dwelling beneath Parliament, he discovered Guy, a set of matches, and a whole lot of gunpowder.

The conspiracy was uncovered and thwarted. Torture, confessions and painful executions followed. This was the end of the now-famous Gunpowder Plot. And the end of Guy Fawkes.

For centuries afterward, Londoners have organized a curious bonfire on the Nov. 5th anniversary of Guy’s bust. They even gave it a catchy phrase…

“Remember, remember the fifth of November,” they chant.

Today we’re putting together our own celebration… with a very special offer to you. Before we get to that offer, let me first give you some backstory. This, I hope, will give you context for the special offer.

As you know, our goal at Laissez Faire books is to provide you with the much needed tools to control your own life. To have the confidence to make your own decisions, rather than being barked at by the political class. And to walk the road of riches, while others continue to morph into government feeding zombies.

These “tools” come in many forms: classic texts that help you guide your decision making, research services that aim to give you financial freedom, and conferences that aim to help you develop your own network of like-minded problem solvers.

Today we’re celebrating with a way to save hundreds off the cost of claiming that financial and personal freedom. And it couldn’t come at a better time…

This election season, like the many before it, remind us that the politicos are more concerned about sucking as much as they can from the system before the whole thing collapses.

They’re more concerned about bailing out fellow friends and CEOs than they are about creating a friendly environment for entrepreneurs to thrive.

Take our currency, the U.S. dollar, for example…

It’s been 40 years now since the dollar had even the slightest connection to gold. Our money is backed by nothing but empty promises. The government holds the power to print itself out of any problem.

That “power” the government holds has corrupted the system. Banks and well-connected businesses know they are very likely to be backstopped by the feds.

So they can still pocket the profits… while you and I shoulder the risks of their bad decisions.

Or take interest rates. In an effort to create more liquidity — and, subsequently, higher profits for banks as they pay less interest to depositors – the Feds pushed interest rates to historic lows.

Their perverted economic policies encourage Americans to SPEND, rather than SAVE, their money.

Back in Guy Fawkes’ day, the government was punishing Catholics. Nowadays, it’s not about religion.

It’s about the government telling us what we should and shouldn’t eat… forcing us to wear seat belts and helmets for nearly everything… and, most importantly, for punishing the hardworking savers and entrepreneurs that create growth.

In short, it’s the idea people and middle class that are getting squeezed. Actually, hanged is more like it.

Happy Bonfire night to one and all!!!

 

Look out! A Banger!