It's Fireworks Night
Yes, Guy Fawkes Night is here again, with bonfires and bangers - both the noisy and the edible varieties!!
The bonfire is the centrepiece of any Guy Fawkes celebration, but most are accompanied by at least a few fireworks.
Most of us with pets dread tonight, and usually a week before and after too, due to the noisy fireworks that some people set off.
Those culprits are usually rockets, which zoom up into the sky and explode with a bang, or mine fireworks, which are launched by a mortar and shoot coloured stars into the sky with a variety of flashes and very loud bangs.
They are spectacular to see but not a friend to pets, livestock, or wildlife. And young children can find them a bit scary too.
But there are plenty of quieter fireworks that can be just as beautiful and are generally much safer to use and less stressful for animals.
Roman candle - a cardboard tube filled with individual balls which shoot out stars at intervals, which can be a single colour or many colours.
Fountain - the ideal choice for a pet person, these make no loud bangs or whistles, just a lovely shower of sparks!!
Catherine wheel - they get their name from St Catherine who was martyred on a spinning wheel. They may crackle or whistle as they spin.
Everyone’s favourite - the sparkler!!
Who didn’t like writing in the air with them as a kid?
A metal or wooden stick that emits a constant stream of sparks, modern sparklers can have a whole variety of colours in their sparks, thanks to using a blend of different ingredients.
It is widely accepted that fireworks were invented over 2,000 years ago by the Chinese after a field chef discovered by accident that a mixture of charcoal, sulphur, and saltpetre (common kitchen ingredients back then) burned well and when compressed into a bamboo tube, exploded!!
Fireworks probably arrived in Europe in the 14th Century, brought back by the Crusaders. The first recorded fireworks in England were at the wedding of Henry VII in 1486. They became very popular from the reign of Queen Elizabeth I and she enjoyed them so much that she created a post of “Fire Master of England”. The misuse of pyrotechnics during William Shakespeare’s play in the Globe Theatre was what caused it to burn down.
So, do you have a favourite type of firework?
Do you ever set off your own tonight or do you go to an organised display?
Let’s celebrate this Guy Fawkes Night with all manner of things pyrotechnic with a party later to go off with a bang too!!!
All are welcome.
And please feel free to share all discussions you enjoy.