Bonfire Night

  This Bonfire Night, Saturday November 5th, there will of course be dozens of dazzling displays all over London from Alexandra Palace to Battersea, from Southwark Park to Crystal Palace. These will all be commemorating Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Fireworks Night. The evening is a time to remember the foiling of the plot to blow up King James I and Parliament with gunpowder on November 5th 1605. We all know a particularly memorable ditty about Bonfire Night. We love facts and knowledge at Thames Rockets so here are a couple more for you all to chew over. 'Don't you Remember, The Fifth of November, 'Twas Gunpowder Treason Day, I let off my gun, And made'em all run. And Stole all their Bonfire away.' (1742) 'The fifth of November, since I can remember, Was Guy Faux, poke him in the eye, Shove him up the chimney-pot, and there let him die. A stick and a stake, for King George's sake, If you don't give me one, I'll take two, The better for me, and the worse for you, Ricket-a-racket your hedges shall go.' (1903) Have you ever wondered where 'penny for the guy' came from? The tradition of children putting together a 'Guy' and wheeling him through the local neighbourhood pan-handling for a penny possibly stems from this set of verse about Guy Fawkes night; 'Guy, Guy, Guy; Stick him up on high; Hang him on a lamp post And leave him there to die; Ladies and gentlemen, you will never grow fat If you don't put a penny in the old Guy's hat.' Charming no? We're jolly glad that the Palace of Westminster wasn't blown up, although the palace of 1605 was subsequently replaced but if they had succeeded it's possible Parliament may have moved away from the banks of the Thames and then we would never have had London's amazing 3-in-1 landmark right opposite us! We will all be heading to Southwark Park to watch the fireworks, with plenty of 'oooos' and 'aaahs'. As well as the dazzling display, you can enjoy food, drink and family entertainment throughout the evening until 8pm. Gates open at 5pm, with last entry at 6.30pm. Previous events have attracted more than 30,000 revellers and this promises to be another popular fireworks display, so make sure to get your free tickets in advance. In fact VisitLondon named it as one of the best displays in the city! For more info on the (free!) display CLICK HERE! We'll be there toffee apple in one hand, sparkler in the other!