Sunday, 8 November 2015

Screeches & bangs



We got the roasting potatoes out of the oven to give them a last baste, when suddenly there was an almighty screech. Before long great bangs began & coloured sparkles speckled the sky. Wafts of acrid smoke swept across the garden. Suddenly we remembered it was Bonfire Night & got on with our roast chicken dinner.

As the meal went on, there was another screech followed by bangs & coloured sparkles. Soon this was followed by the howls of upset dogs in the neighbourhood. I have to confess we were startled by the screeches but at least we half-expected them. It must have been very frightening for animals & birds who wouldn’t have expected them.

One year, just after we had moved to Morecambe we had a French friend staying with us. We had a meal at Snatchems – in those days the food was good there. Across the river, we could watch the firework display at Lancaster Castle, always a treat. The lights were reflected in the water, doubling their impact. Our friend was most impressed, though he did have difficulty in understanding why we should want to celebrate the failure to blow up the Houses of Parliament, & the king with it, in 1605.

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