Bonfire night
November 4, 2007
Yesterday evening was Bonfire Night. Wikipedia says about Bonfire Night:
Guy Fawkes Night (also known as Bonfire Night) is an annual celebration on the evening of November 5th. It celebrates the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot of the 5th of November 1605 in which a number of Roman Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
It is primarily marked in the United Kingdom, but also in former British colonies including New Zealand, parts of Canada, and parts of the British Caribbean. Bonfire Night was also common in Australia until the 1980’s, but it was held on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June.
Festivities are centered around the use of fireworks and the lighting of bonfires.
It’s not surprising that Mr. Fawkes foul plans lead to an unpleasant end of his life. After the event, Fawkes was tortured over the next few days, after the King granted special permission to do so. The torture should be gentle at first, and then more severe. For three or four days Fawkes said nothing, let alone divulge the names of his co-conspirators. Only when he found out that they had proclaimed themselves by appearing in arms did he succumb. Fawkes and a number of others implicated in the conspiracy were tried. After being found guilty, they were hanged, drawn, and quartered…
Bonfire Night was for us a great and spectacular firework at Dunvegan Castle. At 19:30 - a little later than planned - a piper announced the commencement of the event and a fire, depicting an old Viking ship, left of the castle was lit. Shortly after that the fireworks started… absolutely stunning.
I tried to capture some of it with the digital camera. The fact that Dunvegan Castle was lit with a beautiful orange / brown glow, added to the atmosphere. The weather cooperated as well. There was only a little drizzle just prior to the fireworks but this stopped when the event went into full swing. Lovely evening!
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