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Guy Fawkes Night.....Memories

I have posted this before I think, a photo of a wood Jeep that my Dad GOD bless him, made on a fretsaw for me one Xmas. No running down to Walmart to buy some plastic toy that would fall apart and end up in the trash bin. The PILLOW CASE at the foot of the bed, Eddie you made an old geezer cry. What memories and the joy at getting things that you would cherish for years. Wonder what will in be in MY pillow case this year?? Ho Ho! John Crump OldBrit Parker, Colorado USAJeep Dad made 001.JPG
 
The firework "season" seems to have started even earlier this year, last night the whole grden lit up and there was a huge bang followed by a series of less noisy ones.
 
"Light up the sky with Standard Fireworks" the jingle on tv, standing out side the post office "penny for guy" some old clothes full of news paper and that card board mask.

We use to build a bonfire across from the 41 bus terminus on Longbridge Lane right behind a couple of blocks of masonetts so one year I set of a rocket and the bottle moved and the rocket shot up into some one's balcony and just keep going in the corner then it did its rocket thing and exploded all over the place, problem the poor woman had her washing hanging on the balcony I can still remeber running so fast to get away.
 
davpen said:
What are your special memories of Guy Fawkes night?
For me it was buying the fireworks over time and storing them a shoe box...(Wilders..Standard.etc) Such anticipation.
Mum would aquire one of dads old suits and we would make the GUY....
We would collect anything burnable for weeks for the fire..(not sustainable now *s*}
The big night would arrive.....Several familys would get together.
Mum would make spuds in jackets....Dad would tend the fire......Your front would roast and your back shiver and the next morning we would search for spent rocket cases as the smoke still hung around in the air......
What wonderful memories..
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Great memories...….
 
Bonfire night has come round again, there were fireworks last night, I expect more tonight even though private fireworks are discouraged at this time.
A few years ago our car was damaged by a rocket which had (somehow?) become wedged in the doorhandle, the paintwork was badly scorched.
rosie.
 
rosie said:
Bonfire night has come round again, there were fireworks last night, I expect more tonight even though private fireworks are discouraged at this time.
A few years ago our car was damaged by a rocket which had (somehow?) become wedged in the doorhandle, the paintwork was badly scorched.
rosie.
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yes i dread tonight,with the things, my poor dog goes mad. with the bangers, i dont know what to do for the best.
 
I lived in Oxley Grove in Weoley Castle from 1955-1961, us kids used to have a bonfire in the circle at the top of the grove as back then hardly anyone had a car. Searching for stuff to burn became our main objective for about a month before Nov 5th and every other grove/ road etc had kids doing the same. Then you would wake up one morning and find some of your bonfire wood had been raided in the night so we would seek revenge and raid someone else's bonfire!
Our parents bought a few fireworks each week, all made in the UK, non from China and I would keep looking at them imagining what they would go off like. One particular favourite was Wilders "calling all cars" which sounded like a siren when it went off.

Us boys would buy penny bangers with our pocket money and do stupid dangerous things like wait till it fizzed and then drop it in a Brasso tin & screw the top on as fast as we could. The explosion would completely flatten the tin out, thinking back how easily we could have lost our fingers as the bangers then were much more powerful than todays poor efforts. Another one was lighting a banger and putting it down the barrel of our cowboy guns & rifles, it would shoot out right across the road.

Another one was tying a banger to a stone, wait till it fizzed and the throw it in a deep part of the stream, it would continue to burn underwater and send up big white bubbles of smoke followed by a thump and eruption in the water. Another banger in a red wrapper was called a Cannon and cost 2 pence, this gave a huge deafening bang which you maximised by letting it off in a narrow space such as between two houses.

After the bonfire had burned down and collapsed on Nov 5th we would frantically start looking for something else to throw on to keep it going, kids running out with their dads evening mail, Radio times and even their comics would get thrown on, then we would give up and go off looking for rockets that had come down in the nearby roads. And finally give up and go home to bed, that is if we could find our way home through the smoke & smog!

Happy days
 
izzy eckerslike said:
I lived in Oxley Grove in Weoley Castle from 1955-1961, us kids used to have a bonfire in the circle at the top of the grove as back then hardly anyone had a car. Searching for stuff to burn became our main objective for about a month before Nov 5th and every other grove/ road etc had kids doing the same. Then you would wake up one morning and find some of your bonfire wood had been raided in the night so we would seek revenge and raid someone else's bonfire!
Our parents bought a few fireworks each week, all made in the UK, non from China and I would keep looking at them imagining what they would go off like. One particular favourite was Wilders "calling all cars" which sounded like a siren when it went off.

Us boys would buy penny bangers with our pocket money and do stupid dangerous things like wait till it fizzed and then drop it in a Brasso tin & screw the top on as fast as we could. The explosion would completely flatten the tin out, thinking back how easily we could have lost our fingers as the bangers then were much more powerful than todays poor efforts. Another one was lighting a banger and putting it down the barrel of our cowboy guns & rifles, it would shoot out right across the road.

Another one was tying a banger to a stone, wait till it fizzed and the throw it in a deep part of the stream, it would continue to burn underwater and send up big white bubbles of smoke followed by a thump and eruption in the water. Another banger in a red wrapper was called a Cannon and cost 2 pence, this gave a huge deafening bang which you maximised by letting it off in a narrow space such as between two houses.

After the bonfire had burned down and collapsed on Nov 5th we would frantically start looking for something else to throw on to keep it going, kids running out with their dads evening mail, Radio times and even their comics would get thrown on, then we would give up and go off looking for rockets that had come down in the nearby roads. And finally give up and go home to bed, that is if we could find our way home through the smoke & smog!

Happy days
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Great memories Izzy!
In addition to finding stuff to burn on the fire, two or three of us would make Guy, almost as big as were were put him on our go cart (made from an old pram). We would take the cart to the shopping area saying “penny for the guy” we would take that money and buy fireworks. Last last thing we did as the fire died down was roast some chestnuts or potatoes!

Yes simpler and very happy days!
 
Richarddye said:
Great memories Izzy!
In addition to finding stuff to burn on the fire, two or three of us would make Guy, almost as big as were were put him on our go cart (made from an old pram). We would take the cart to the shopping area saying “penny for the guy” we would take that money and buy fireworks. Last last thing we did as the fire died down was roast some chestnuts or potatoes!

Yes simpler and very happy days!
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i loved old sofas and arm chairs, we put them on the fire and and see who sit in them the longest while they burned and see who would chicken out and jump off
 
There was always a foggy start to the day after bonfire night. Usually damp I suppose. We were always on the lookout for spent rockets on the way to school. Didn’t really do anything with them, but I do remember how fascinating it was that they’d been so very high up in the air and back down to ground. I also wondered where they’d come from. Simple pleasures I suppose. Viv.
 
Vivienne14 said:
There was always a foggy start to the day after bonfire night. Usually damp I suppose. We were always on the lookout for spent rockets on the way to school. Didn’t really do anything with them, but I do remember how fascinating it was that they’d been so very high up in the air and back down to ground. I also wondered where they’d come from. Simple pleasures I suppose. Viv.
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Viv that is very strange i collected them too .What for i dont just liked em:grinning::grinning:
 
When I was young my mum use to buy us 1 box of Standard fireworks from Coopers newsagents shop on the highstreet in Aston.She always put them straight into a tin box for safety we always were so excited we always kept opening the tin box to look at all the fireworks.When the 5th finally came we had to wait till our dad came home from work and he had his dinner before he lit all the fireworks for us ,He always nailed the Catherine wheel to our wooden fence and sometimes it flew off and went anywhere but we loved it also the penny for the guys were usually placed on the bottom of an old pram it had no bottom just the 4 wheels the guy was balanced on .Simple lifestyle great times.
 
There was a little shop in Talford Street, Aston (can't remember the name) that ran a fireworks saving club each year, we would go there a couple of days before the 5th to choose our fireworks (dependant on the amount saved). They were magical things to a 5/6 year old and came under close scrutiny many times before bonfire night.

Later we moved to Saltley and I have vivid memories as a 9/10 year old being dressed as the guy by my brother and his friends and 'begging' outside The Gate pub, what they never envisaged was an unfriendly youth (not realising the guy was real) giving me a good thump, luckily I survived to tell the tale.

In the 90s I worked in Spain for a while, they have their own version of bonfire night but held in June, what an experience, no regard for safety whatsoever with vast crowds and children dodging the 'jumping jacks'. It did rekindle memories of my childhood experiences though.
 
“Light up the sky’s with Standard Fireworks……” as the song in the advertisement goes.

Catherine wheels rarely worked but were very impressive if you could get them to go properly. I loved jumping jacks. My pal lit one in-between the vicar’s feet at the local church bonfire one year.
 
Yes I too remember inspecting the fireworks before bonfire night. Ours weren’t kept in a tin box so it was easy to get them out and ‘play’ with them (!) I loved the coloured labels on them. Seem to remember most had a blue (greasy?) wrapper with a label stuck onto them. Bonfire night was all a bit short-lived though wasn’t it ? Viv.
 
Its that time again pets hate....please keep a look out for hedgedogs before lighting fires
1465260104fireworks-animated-gif-24.gif
 
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