Guy Fawkes

Great Lives - The Gunpowder Plotters

Before we go any further, it is perhaps important to clarify what we mean by Great Lives for this week's edition.

The word 'great' has many meanings. By strict definition, it means large, significant or important. Colloquially, it is commonly used as an expression of approval, for something or someone that we consider to be good. That is definitely not the case here.

Robert Catesby, Stephen Littleton, Thomas Percy and their friends are "great" in the sense that they played a significant role in the history of the nation, and this region in particular. But they were certainly not good. However appealing it may sound at times, blowing up the Houses of Parliament is definitely something that is rightly frowned upon by right-thinking members of society.

We are, of course, talking about the Gunpowder Plotters, who made their final stand in the heart of the West Midlands.

 

I was just reading your post of last year Clive, in particular where you say the delay in 1604 worked in the plotters’ favour. It’s a curious “what if” isn’t it, actually. I know we don’t like what ifs, but I hope it’s ok in this case, as it certainly made me think (which is an increasing rarity these days).

The delay certainly worked in their favour in terms of better premises from which to launch the attack, but had there been no delay in 1604, would Tresham ever have become involved? He appears to have been let in on the plot very late in 1605 and only then, from what I just read, after the death of his father, assuming that the death had any influence on the decision to then include him in the villainy, of course.

So no Tresham, if he was the anonymous tipster, no letter, no discovery of the plan? Fascinating to wonder about but it didn’t happen that way so…

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topi...ric]-[PS_BITESIZE~N~~A_GuyFawkesBonfireNight]

 

Are there many young kids who ask, "Penny for the Guy" nowadays?

 

I thought there was a cost of living crisis.
Not going by the sound a small war going on out there tonight.

 

Can you imagine if they’d used that as a “Wanted” poster - they all look the same, they’d have arrested 90% of the male population.

I always think it’s a good thing for the fireworks industry that the Gunpowder Plot wasn’t on 21st June.

Anyway, gotta dash, bit of an emergency- just got a text from Amazon, apparently they’ve detected an unauthorised attempt to sign into my account, so I need to follow their link and hand over my password and bank account details. Thank heavens they’re looking out for me.

 

We never had any fuss over halloween up north. Mischief Night on 4th November, potatoes cooked in bonfire embers on 5th November. Magnificent jumping cracker in this film: must have been a tanner's worth.

A DATE TO REMEMBER



Stand well clear:

 

Lovely film. What a fire, I could almost feel the heat. Do you remember those wonderful times when Bonfire Night was exactly that, just one night a year in your garden, with maybe an organised display at the weekend. Now, of course, the anti-social morons have taken over and it’s fireworks randomly a-banging from September onwards.

They’ll be starting Christmas in July next…

 

That'll be Clive then

 

A certain advertising jingle springs to mind...

"Light up the sky with Standard Fireworks"

 

“Remember, remember the fifth of Novemberrrrrr.
Light up the sky…”

 

The Diwali celebrations have started this evening in my neck of the woods, so there will be fireworks from now until bonfire night season has finished. Occasionally a nuisance .......especially if your pets are upset by the noise.

 

Guy Fawkes, London, 1876.

 

That’s some effort gone into that - much more than I did when I was a kid, i.e. paper or straw stuffed into some old clothes and what I think was either a papiermache or cardboard mask you could buy from the sweet shop, which always had a very distinctive smell to it when you tried it on. Funny, I can still remember the unique pong of that mask.

It looked something, if not exactly, like the one these very enterprising kids (or their parents) have used here. I don’t think I’ve seen kids with a Guy doing this for years, sadly.



(Image from Pinterest)

 

7 and 6 from a drunk bloke ! ( 37½ pence now ). !

I think we made about 7 pence ha'penny! Bigger profit than selling rose petal water ( no takers.)

Watch Penny for the Guy? - BFI Player

 

Given that Diwali has probably been going for much longer than bonfire night got me wondering - did the British (or other Europeans) have an Autumn lights festival, before it became a (Guy Fawkes) celebration. I wondered if it really goes back to ancient times? Apologies if someone has brought this up before
Roy