Bonfires becoming incorrect in Britain

I remember how much I enjoyed the fireworks and bonfires of Guy Fawkes night during my long-past Australian childhood but the fireworks have now been banned in Australia for many years

What is Guy Fawkes Night without the bonfire and Snow White minus the seven dwarfs? Or Pinocchio banned for mocking people with long noses and the Lord of the Rings' dwarf removed for being offensive? If you didn't laugh, you'd cry, it is often said. Especially when right is wrong and wrong deemed politically correct. And one will never cease to be amazed by the British style of seeing the funny side of adversity. But the latest pantomime - where the traditional Nov 5 bonfire is banned and Snow White's dwarfs replaced with gnomes - beggars belief.

Instead of lighting a bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night, the residents were told to spend the evening more constructively, that is, quietly composting their garden waste! In its leaflet, the Test Valley Council in Hampshire claimed smoke from bonfires annoyed neighbours, made people ill and drifted over roads. Among others, the council cautioned that smoke, ash and smell polluted the environment and damaged people's health, especially those suffering from asthma, bronchitis or heart conditions. It also warned of the dangers posed by bonfires spreading to surrounding fences and shrubs as well as smoke causing traffic hazards.

Against this health and safety backdrop, however, critics argued the ruling would turn the traditional exciting occasion into a damp squib. Better call it Garden Forks Night, screamed one British tabloid, while another labelled the event Compost Night. For centuries, Bonfire Night had gone off with a bang across Britain, with people burning wood for donkey's years. Young and old have thrilled to the sight of a roaring blaze, colourful fireworks, baked potatoes and sausages - and of course, the effigy of Guy Fawkes on top of the burning pile.

Needless to say, not everyone cherishes the idea of attending big organised bonfires and fireworks displays at designated areas. Instead, they prefer a small bonfire with family members and friends gathered around to enjoy fireworks parties in their gardens. In truth, watching compost decompose may be safe, educational and environmental-friendly. But it certainly is not half as exciting as bonfires and fireworks displays.

Some even chided that Guy Fawkes did not put a compost heap under the Houses of Parliament, in an apparent reference to the failed plot by Fawkes and 12 conspirators some 400 years ago.

More here

But the tradition is celebrated in some places in Britain, as the following excerpt notes:

"On Saturday, residents of Lewes, a hilly town of 16,000 near England's south coast, will parade through the streets dressed as smugglers, popes and Mongols, then set the night sky alight with bonfires and fireworks. They will be celebrating the 400th anniversary of the thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in which a group of Catholic radicals are alleged to have tried to blow up Parliament and kill King James I.

Lewes's Bonfire Night will attract as many as 150,000 people, making it the biggest event on the day in England. What began as a sectarian celebration of freedom from the rule of Rome has evolved into one of independence and anti-authoritarianism, said organizers. The Lewes bonfires continued even as government officials sought to suppress them in 1847".

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