A fig for ol Guy Fawkes?

Have you ever wondered why, more than four hundred years on, we still gather together to celebrate Guy Fawkes night?  Watching the night sky illuminate with gunpowder sparkle in the name of someone who way back in 1604 plotted to bring down the Government of the day, could be construed as a little odd by those outside the UK, yet this tradition is so much part of our heritage, we don wellies and warm coats every November to stand in a muddy fields and stare up at the night sky ...

I can't pretend to give a fig for old Guy Fawkes and his gunpowder plot; in truth he's little more than a shady character in a childhood story to me and in these days of economic belt tightening, it does seem rather extravagant to blast a fortune's worth of fireworks into the sky on his behalf.  That said,  there is undoubtedly something entrancing about watching the sky blaze with colour on a dark November night ... I think it's a little bit magical.  It reminds me of family gatherings in the garden at home with my Dad when we were kids, rockets whizzing at alarming angles, Roman Candles spluttering half heartedly and erratic Catherine Wheels never quite managing to spin smoothly much to our poor Dad's frustration!  No, for me Guy Fawkes night isn't about a dusty history book conspiracy character who lived centuries ago, it's simply about sharing some magic with my kids, big as they now are!

My lot!

And I love that they still humour me with this each year - thanks kids!

So for any curious overseas readers, now you know we're not all crazy here in the UK, we just enjoy the opportunity to gaze at the night sky, reminisce a little, dream a little and above all, share the sparkle with our kids ... in fact, ol' Guy Fawkes has very little to do with anything these days!