Firework Night

November 5th (+/- a day or 2)

Can I emplore and encourage all of you who like and support Firework Night / Bonfire Night to support your local Organised Displays.

They provide an excellent display in a safe environment and there is a far less likelihood of anyone getting hurt.
My local display has performed for 20 years without incident and we now have 8000 people attending. And there are several other displays in the area similarly supported.
I wish Supermarkets would stop stocking the product. There are problems every year with anti-social issues for weeks before the night and hospitals are always busy with mis-use issues.

Please DO NOT buy large boxes of indeterminate fireworks from the back of a van etc. They are often counterfeit and dangerous.

ENJOY THE EVENT IN SAFETY. ITS UP TO THE ADULTS TO EDUCATE THE KIDS TO ENSURE FUTURE SAFETY.

 

This year, as usual, I'll be off to the 'Biddenden Blaze', complete with oversized bonfire. I think the village must stockpile flammable stuff all year. It would be really nice if, just for once, we had a dry night and didn't end looking like drowned rats.

 

Thanks Clare. I wish you a Clear Dry night and tasty soup on offer to warm the cockles.

 

An excellent point! I love going to our local display and, albeit perhaps through laziness, I can actually see it from my window if all else fails weather wise or it gets far too crowded!

I hope you enjoy the display Clara! It sounds like a sight to see anyway! :D


Albeit if I could squeeze in another note; I think it's a grand idea to help support and donate to a local animal shelter, having volunteered long term with one it's evident just how often and how grotesque it all gets for strays and free-roaming house cats (mostly without collars, albeit not all). At this time I try to get people to keep their cats indoors as much as possible throughout November, December, January (at most and best) and keep them out of the way from people who think they make a great accessory to a rocket.

 

Our town has a BONFIRE night
No bonfire allowed elf and safety Plus respect to the faith of GUIDO FAWKES not to offend anyone of that FAITH
The fireworks are good, though when the collection bucket goes around all the Range Rovers and BMW's vanish or do not have change
Money is collected from the "poor" folk on foot who chuck their change in, "SOMETIMES"
The charities supported make little money, the BURGER VANS and FAIRGROUND do :-(

Jack McH

 

We're lucky enough to live on a high hill so we get to see most of Bristol's fireworks from our windows! It is an amazing sight. But we do a small box in the garden too. I love organised displays but I'm waiting till kids are a bit older as my youngest doesn't like loud bangs and usually dissolves into tears even with her ear defenders on!

Not seen any adverts for organised displays this year actually. I wonder if the recession is affecting people's ability to hold them? The upfront costs and insurance must be high.

 

The rogue Fireworks have already started.
Please remember thet Dogs and Cats do not understand the noise and can be frightened.
Organised Firework Displays will be on-going from Nov 4th - 7th at a minimum and idiots will be randomly causing disturbance for a week either side.
Responsible owners will know to be wary of the disturbing effects the noise can have on their pets.
Mindless Idiots have no such consideration.

Nontheless millions will enjoy the cedlebration at organised Displays and at family gatherings in back gardens.
Keep safe and be aware.

 

I used to think people who wanted fireworks banned from sale to the public were just killjoys. Then I moved into our new neighbourhood, where most of the time the local youths are generally ok. A bit noisy from time to time, but kids are noisy, its a fact of life. Then the fireworks hit the shops around the end of september it seems. Then by day, our neighbourhood is fairly peaceful as usual, but by night it sounds like a war zone.

If teenagers want to risk blowing themselves up, then that's there choice. There are plenty of wide open spaces round here where they can blow their fingers off at 2AM, while out of hearing range of my bedroom window so I don't have to be disturbed by it. I really don't understand why they feel the need to risk blowing themselves up at night right in the middle of the street, where the bang will wake everybody up.

Nowadays I think fireworks should be banned for public sale, unless the buyer has some sort of permit to run an organised display.

I also think we need a change of mindset. People call them 'fireworks'. Some people might call them pyrotechnics. What they are is explosives. They are designed and manufactured to explode. Some do so with sufficient force to do considerable damage.

I knew a lad when I was a teenager who thought it would be cool to holder a firework in his mouth, like a cigar, light it, and pretend to casually smoke it for a second. He figured the time between lighting it and it exploding would be enough time for him to pretend to take a drag, and then casually remove it and drop it. He was wrong. Several of his teeth were blown out then and there. Several more had to be removed during his emergency surgery. His jaw was broken in two places, and of course he had extensive burns to his face.

 

Where I live bonfires are banned all year round.

But they turn a blind eye on Nov 5th because there are too many for them to deal with. I know this because a mate of mine got a knock on the door the day after he was burning rubbish in his garden.

As for fireworks being on sale to the public, it should be to over 21's only. They are no where near as dangerous as they used to be, they don't go bang any more only "phut"

That said have you noticed the "fire work shops" that spring up this time of year, they sell some really big fireworks. Not brought any, just seen them in the window.

 

The ones you get in the supermarkets are dangerous in the wrong hands, but as you say, they are generally a bit feeble by comparison to some fireworks you can buy.

The ones that are popular with today's youth (and lets not kid ourselves, they'd have been popular to all of us as youths if they were available to us), come from shops that sometimes call them 'Chinese fireworks'. Legal, but only just. Right at the very top edge of the 'legally acceptable' scale.

A few years ago when I lived in Sheffield, there was a joint initiative by the police, the council, and various youth and community organisations to try to get people to realise the dangers. Some of these perfectly legal explosives were powerful enough to rip those heavy pay phone doors off their hinges (the local chavs in my ex-neighbourhood used to take great delight in doing this). In one case in Sheffield a few years ago, some kids decided it would be funny to launch a rocket at somebody's front window. I guess the expectation was that it would bounce of the window, make the occupants of the first floor flat jump out their skins, and that would be it. What actually happened was the rocket smashed straight through the window, then set fire to the flat. The family had to be rescued by the fire brigade and the damage to the flat was extensive.