Guy Fawkes

Every year in the United Kingdom “Guy Fawkes Night” is celebrated.

The photos on this page were taken at the 2011 Livingston Cricket Club Firework Display for Guy Fawkes Night in Murieston, which is an increasingly popular annual event. Next year, come earlier, be prepared to park further away and walk as it was quite a jam on the road.

Probably not so many people know the whole story or the original political intrigue behind the celebration these days. The basic scenario was that in 1605 AD Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the House of Lords in the English Parliament buildings in Westminster, London. Following a tip-off, Fawkes was caught on the 5th of November, guarding the explosives.

Clearly Fawkes didn’t act alone and the group he associated with and the attempt to destroy the English Government of the time became known as “Gunpowder Plot”. It has been celebrated by burning effigies or “Guys” on bonfires on the anniversary ever since. Fireworks are also commonly used as part of the festivity.

I’m not sure how the event came to be celebrated in Scotland, since it was the English parliament of that era.

In my childhood Guy Fawkes night was more commonly called “bonfire night” and apart from the guy had little to do with the original celebration. It was more of an excuse to have a good fire to burn old wood, rubbish and to have a good family/community event at the onset of winter, sometimes involving food too.

In recent years the number of bonfires and the burning of a guy has diminished. I cannot remember when I last saw a Guy Fawkes night bonfire and the event is now largely an excuse to let off fireworks. Bonfires are still lit in some places and are still a hazard that the Fire and Rescue Services have to deal with when they get out of control and buildings are damaged or threatened. This year the heath and scrub caught alight on Arthurs Seat in Edinburgh and had to be contained by the fire services to prevent it spreading.

The fireworks available now a significantly bigger and better than anything I would have seen in my childhood. Organised public firework displays are now commonplace although some people still have home based displays. Every year at this November weekend my local area is almost like a war-zone in the evening with the explosions, noise and smoke filling the air.

It is a good thing that people now tend to go to organised events. Clearly there are still many who set off their own but I wish for the sake of dogs and other wildlife that the celebrations would be limited to organised 20 minute events on the nearest Saturday.

There is a trend to set off “Chinese Lanterns” which I would hope is something people would stop doing as they are airborne fire hazards. They could land anywhere and may still be hot enough to cause fires and the debris can harm wildlife.

Taking photos of fireworks is a bit of a “shot in the dark” but a steady tripod and some practice can get some interesting results.

These are my efforts from this year’s display at the Livingston Cricket Club ground.

These photographs were taken in November 2011 using a Fujifilm S5 DSLR. Shot in RAW format and processed in Photoshop CS2 ACR2.4