Monday, November 6, 2006

Gunpowder Treason and Plot

Guy Fawkes and 12 other men conspired to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November 5th, 1605. Each year in England we remember the infamous Gunpower plot with bonfires and firework displays.
[Crossposted]

5 comments:

Jason said...

Not everywhere in England you don't.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=414098

Anonymous said...

Guy Fawkes has been banned by council bosses in east London - and replaced with a Bengali folk tale. Tower Hamlets said it wanted to provide an 'alternative' theme to celebrate November 5 and the attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

What the...


The council has commissioned a £75,000 fireworks display entitled the Emperor and the Tiger, which tells the story of the 'Moghul Emperor, the Wise Man and the Guardian of the Jungle'. As a mock Bengal tiger paces a giant catwalk, fire will light up a "forest" to the sound of Bangla drummers and dancers.

???


Around 20,000 people are expected to pack into Hackney's Victoria Park for Sunday night's display - but there will be no mention of the date's enormous significance in British history. The move came under fire from George Galloway and campaigners. Mr Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow said: 'It beggars belief that this council should organise a Bonfire Night without a bonfire or a Guy.'

And now Galloway looks good in comparison to these nut-jobs.

What the hell were they thinking?


Officials said: 'We did Guy fawkes last year' and insisted it was their tradition to have a different theme each year. In a statement, a spokesman said: 'And this differentiates our celebrations from other boroughs and our events are proving to be extremely popular.'

How about next year they do something different for Christmas, hey?

WTF.


'Our sole aim is to stage an exciting event - on the traditional Fireworks Night - that will attract the interest of as many people as possible. Since introducing the themed events four years ago, visitor numbers have increased from 3,000 to a massive 23,000 people at last year's event. Let's judge the event by how much people enjoy themselves on the night.'

But what about the meaning, the history behind it all?

Unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

Anonymous said...

Its cool if some people want to do something different (or nothing atall), but it is not right for the council to re-jig a cultural event.

This is ridiclous!

Thanks for the link Jason. :)

Jason said...

I'm still not sure if this is the whole story. If seems so odd that they would replace a holiday just for the sake of doing something different, as if it were the same as ordering something other than your regular meal at a restaurant just for the sake of mixing things up.

It doesn't say that nov.5th is any specific Bengali holiday, so I don't see why they didn't just have this on another date.

Is it an "alternative" in the same way religious right bottom feeding animals provide "alternatives" to halloween just because they dislike it? Is there similar "controversy" over guy fawkes day I'm unaware of?

Anonymous said...

I recon that it is accurate but exaggerated. Clearly Tower Hamlet are going against tradition; but the Daily Mail have inflamed the situation with the world "replaced".

"A spectacular free Guy Fawkes' firework celebration is set to light the skies above Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets on 5 November at 7.30pm.

This year the unique theatrical pyrotechnic extravaganza entitled The Emperor and the Tiger has been organised by Tower Hamlets Council Arts and Events team.
"

I think TH made the wrong decision; even though their alternative themed Bonfire night looks quite fun. There is a special meaning behind the 5th of November and that history should be recognised.

Its not really such a big deal; but it is just not quite right.