(Uncle Gaz with a little angel called Ailla)We went to a little bonfire party last night.
Each year on 5th November, us Brits commemorate the houses of parliament (and King) NOT being blown up by Guy Fawkes, in the 'Gunpowder Plot' of 5th Nov 1605.
-We don't let go of the past very easily in Britain.
The Americans have fireworks on independence day, the French have them to remember the storming of the Bastille, but us British let off our roman candles & rockets for...A failed revolution, 401 years ago last Sunday. Phuck Yeah!
Since we no longer live in the middle-ages, we celebrate this great festival with our strange customs of making a large bonfire, watching magical mysterious explosions, & burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes.
-A stroke of genius propaganda by the royalists.
(Great British Bonfire - minus the effigy)I was thinking how Guy Fawkes gets a bit of a bum deal really. He made a bit of a mistake & pays for it every year. All his mates who grassed him up, seem to get off scott free now-a-days.
I didn't do much History at school, but it seems to me, that poor Guy was a cornered man, caught between his own beliefs & the king's 'Divine Right' to rule.
And in any case, would Britain be a better or worse place, if Guy hadn't been busted with his stash of powder?
If he HAD succeeded in blowing up King James...So what?
Maybe we'd have celebrated it, every year on the 6th November for the next four centuries.
This sounds harsh on King Jim, but "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"...And he was a bit of a wanker by all accounts.
I quite like some traditions, but maybe we could evolve them a little.
If we need to burn effigies, how about some of Britain's self entitled, old monarchs, for starters.
Or maybe we could burn effigies of people who have pissed us off personally, like the teacher at my old primary school who smacked my arse with 'The Slipper'.
Then I got to thinking... It's strange that men seem quite eager to light fireworks, but the ladies are often happy to just watch.
It's quite a macho thing isn't it. Come on admit it, I am...
...It's that anticipation & excitement, of lighting that touch paper & waiting for the rocket to shoot up in the air, before the explosion...
I wonder what's going on subconsciously? Or is it just me?
So I reckon, the whole 5th November thing, could have our own personal meanings.
Next year, as well as possibly burning an effigy of one of my old school teachers, I might set off fireworks to celebrate man's virility, -a bit like the ancient pagans of Britain did with their
This post is dedicated to the memory of Guy Fawkes, 1570-1606.
A good man, who made a slight error of judgment.
R.I.P.
39 comments:
Yes I have to agree with you on burning an effigy of your teacher, for mine would be my first grade teacher who would never let me use the bathroom, mind you the damn toliet was located in the classroom, plus she made me cry a few times.
What's "the slipper"? Sounds dangerous.
Yes I believe you should set off fireworks to celebrate man's virility, that is a magnificent idea! I liked the article on the Cerne Abbas Giant, quite interesting, thanks!
Oh by the way your daughter is lovely!
What a Fawking Guy.
'The Slipper' was a comfortable looking, rubber soled shoe, used by my primary school Headmaster, as an implement of corporal punishment.
'The Cane' was reserved for the more serious crimes, such as whistling on a Tuesday.
I remember letting out a little involuntary fart as he hit me.
Somehow, this makes me feel better about the whole episode.
I personally love the idea of onfire night. You see the French, along ith most of Europe, as I'm sure you kno had a whole series of revolutions before finally becoming a republic for good...troublemakers.
We, on the other hand had all that constitutional monarchy nonesense many, many years ago, therefore pleasing both royalists & republicans...... Leaving us to more important things in life like drinking tea, munching scones ith the jam & the clotted cream, toasting crumpets, industrializing and conquering the world. Hehexx
Very good lil' take on the whole bonfire night!! Gets you thinking.
My primary school Headmaster was called Mr Slipper. It was funny the first time...
Why does the picture of Gaz and Ailla make my heart so glad? God, I'm a dork.
So if you got "The Cane", for just whistling on Tuesdays, then what did you have to do to get "the slipper" smacked upon your buttocks?
Was whilstling only prohibited on tuesdays, but any other day you could get away with it scot free?
I find it interesting to learn about how people were disciplined when they were in school, it's still shocking for me to hear that teachers were allowed to get away with hitting other peoples children!
Fortunately I never had to endure this, although we were emotionally abused by teachers, by being called failures and no good for nothing, just a real lack of encouragemet really.
I've never thought about all the possible motivations for getting involved in pyromania-101. I know a few of us get a bit crazy on July 4th and spend ridiculous amounts of money on fireworks. It really sucks beacuse they are banned in LA county, but when we lived in Sacramento, we couldn't blow enough shit up. I am so into it, and I don't have a penis I need to empower.
As for effigies, I think that's a great idea to project it onto someone else who better deserves it. One of my primary school teachers was so mean to me. She hit me across the hands with a ruler, yelled at ME because I was crying while being bullied. I was spoiling her good mood after her football team won the grand final, she said. I'll always remember that Essendon won in 1985. Two years later, I had her again and got her a plant for her birthday and she left it at the back of the classroom to die. Such a mean woman.
I think they use to celebrate Guy Fawkes day in Australia, but I just looked it up and it died out in the 80s. I never experienced it. I remember my Australian Studies teacher talking about it and we had no idea what she was talking about.
My big brother used to spend hours meticulously assembling and painting model rockets. Then he would drive to an open field with a bunch of his friends (and me tagging along) and set up some sort of launching device. Then the boys would hoot and holler as the countdown began. 3..2..1..kaswoosh Sometimes they would put catfood in the body of the rocket for the forest animals because that is where the rocket bits would inevitably land after the explosion.
I have been witness to many male virility rituals and they are always a good time.
Am I the only one who doesn't know what an 'effigy' is?
Anywho, we have fireworks on Canada Day and Victoria Day. On both days - one in May and one in July - it usually rains
Definition of effigy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effigy
Kelly,
I got 'the slipper' for allegedly talking in class.
Although I was guilty of this at times, on the occasion I was punished, someone was actually talking to ME. -(My old buddy- John Bobby escaped punishment)
Is it any wonder, I started to kick out against authority?
(This is a bit like a Roger Nezone couch session isn't it?)
Rooster,
I think it's quite endearing, to not know what an effigy is -they aren't really a positive force in society.
This 'Guy Fawkes Night' post began with good intentions, but my childhood memories, & immature sense of humour eventually prevailed.
Blogs are quite theraputic and provide some self discovery, I find. Have you found yourself to be more juvenile than you thought or were you merely trying to conceal it?
The idea of the slipper and the cane makes me furious! I can’t believe they did that to you poor boys! Burn them all in effigy, I say. I’d like to make an effigy of Mr Burrows, my high school choir teacher who called me an “insubordinate minor punk” and grabbed my butt when the lights went out (then I racked him).
When I read “Boy” by Roald Dahl I get so upset about the schoolmasters caning the boys. The boys’ retaliation was quite clever though.
I’d rather watch than light fireworks. Anyway, someone’s got to bandage the macho men after they accidentally shoot themselves with roman candles (David seriously did that last 4th of July).
Interesting blog post! Made me wonder how Gaz deals with itching beard hair. I can't seem to get beyond three days of not shaving, though I really hate shaving.
Even more interesting than the hairy dude is the exuse you come up with for being a pyromaniac... I think Guy did a great job for Britain! If the only thing that he has achieved is that a couple centuries later people are having a nice evening by the fire, than that's just great!
Steph: The picture of the smiling/laughing Gaz and Ailla makes your heart glad because you are a kind soul and you want, as I think many of us do, to believe in genuine (family?) feeling.
As one who was booted out of their family for a while, I can only agree. As hard as I try, I never stop hoping for a moment JUST LIKE the moment in that photo, where a decent adult is glad and a lovely kid is giddy.
I think it is a primal thing (something to do with packs/belonging).
costa...try letting your beard grow m8
it stopps itching when you stop shaving it with a razor
Aww Katers! You're gonna make me cry, because you're right. What matters most is family and love and that's what is in that gorgeous picture right there. It's definitely a primal thing, like you said, I think all of us want to be the giddy kid who is cherished by a decent adult (lucky Ailla doesn’t just have a decent adult but a genius dad and uncle). We never stop longing for it and we shouldn't try (so please don’t try my dear!).
What a lovely family picture.
I think it takes a kind soul, to recognize a kind soul.
Thanks for the comments... You guys Rock!
(In a kind way)
I'm going to leave it there, before I get all Happy Clappy.
Great pic indeed, as it makes me feel again like I do when my nephew and niece are around.
Only makes me hope they're not subjected to the mental abuse we had to endure in the 'liberal Seventies'.
Great thing about Guy Fawke's Night, to get rid of things like that! (Or supoose to do it, at least). In Holland we don't celebrate such events at all! Can't remember ever to have celebrated 'Brothers de Witt'-day or a commemoration of that Dutch guy that set fire to the nazi Berlin Reichstag in 1933.
Just remember a punkband called 'Balthasar Gerards Commando' (BGK), who took the name of the assasin of 'Prince of the motherland' William of Orange just as a shock-statement.
Guess we simply try to erase 'things of inconvenience' here.
Lighting fireworks isn't typically male. Just to use it for the more daring things like launching arrows (Rockets? How do you call them??) from the hand or trying to get the most out of the destructive side of a firecracker could be considered quite typically male, I guess. Plus the fact your parents (Especially mothers) disliked the whole habbit anyway, ofcourse!
As for the beard: shaving really sucks, but when started, you just have to deal with it untill the end. Growing it a little longer does help get rid of the itch, but otherwise you could shampoo it daily or use the good old fingernail occasionally!
Best you can do is burn an effigy named after it on GFD or any suitable occasion.
I love seeing guys genuinely pleased to be with children. Just in September I got to see my dad holding a friend's baby and it was so cute I had to take a picture of them. I'd never seen my dad holding a baby. I guess I saw him hold my sister, but I was a toddler at the time, so I sorta missed the sweetnes of it. He has audio tapes on him with us and you can hear the pride in his voice. Awww. My husband never holds people's babies, but it's not because he doesn't like them. He's just scared of dropping them.
Here's the picture of my dad with a baby:
http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/4553/dadandliampq6.jpg
On the subject of beards, I'm not a fan of beards. My friend Mike hs written a great blog about how much he enjoys a good shave and high cost of Mach 3 razors.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=32826&blogID=191170581&MyToken=a4771f35-0e4d-4a69-b990-2638eca496bb
ah the joys of primary school teachers... my personal favourite was mrs bill, the woman who once told a seven-year-old (in front of the whole class), "well, if that's the way you behave at home, james, no wonder your parents are divorced". nice.
isabel
Gaz looks just how my Uncle John looked when I was 5, he used to carry me round the house and make up bedtime stories for me when I couldn't sleep.
How do you pronounce Ailla, like eye-uh? Is it Celtic?
Full of questions, me.
Cybersteph,
Ailla is pronounced eye-la, the same as the Celtic 'Isla', -Which I love.
'Ailla' is Sanscrit.
I've got a really bad cold.
I'm just saying....
It's not that I haven't received enough sympathy yet (although I haven't),
but it's dot easy de cobbudicate wiv a zor frote & a duffed up doze.
Gonna have a Lemsip & a fag.
I knew someone from Scotland named Isla, so pretty. Lila and Ailla rhyme! That is so sweet.
Maybe you're not getting enough sympathy for your cold cause you're smoking fags while sick. Nothing better for a cold than to have a smoke. :)
I abb dot sick!
Ailla is so pretty with that spelling. Plus you don't have wankers like my friend saying 'Iz-la' if it were spelled Isla. Ugh.
I'm with Steph. No sympathy for smoking sickies!
I think it's sick to bother sick people with discussions on behaviour others think is sick.
Doesn't mean Steph and Simone aren't right, though ... . ;-)
Sanskrit?! Interesting!
I didn't mean to judge, I smoke but I can't bring myself to do it if I'm sick. Guess that means I'm not addicted. Yay?
ouch... a discussion about cigs... will Rob still love us, if we now say what we think?
I think he should enjoy the sigs, I hope he will for a long time...
But, since Rob has kids, I need to say this, I will do it only once and it will be my last preach...
About 1 in 3 people that smoke get lung cancer, 99% of the people that get lung cancer die of cancer. People that are young and have kids also get lung cancer. I am sorry my smoking friends, I dont want to spoil your pleasure, I just think of your loved ones.
I gave up the cigs 4 years ago now and still want one everyday. I'd love one right now - i really really would!. I remember going into hospital to have my tonsils removed a few years ago and had a cig straight after the op. That kind of worried me a bit. My mum will smoke til she dies. Like Costa I question what cost more time with your family? It's bloody hard though!
I haven't had a drag of a cigarette in almost 8 years, but still sometimes, after hating it so much, I still feel like a drag.
In other news, there are worse things than smoking cigarettes...like smoking your arse on Guy Fawkes Night!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15643614/
I am glad that Simone took us back to the origins of this blog--Guy.
All I have to say on the matter is:
All Hail, those of you who would have the monarchy cease this nonsense.
As an avowed pacifist, I can't get behind smoking their arses (well, not literally), but OUT WITH THE REGIME.
OUT, OUT DAMN SPOT(S) and big-eared louts. Who'd've known the old farts had so much time left in them?
Thanks guys,
I'm afraid I'm still feeling like shit but still smoking.
Yeah, I've no excuse- It's pretty stupid. I'm addicted.
I do smoke outside, or in the garage but I can't argue with your point, Costa.
Danny & I have a pact to give up after this album is finished.
I'm pretty useless right now. Hopefully I'll feel better again tomorrow.
Onwards & upwards, best foot forward, worse things happen at sea...Etc
Poor Guy Fawkes. It could be worse, there's a small island in the Adriatic (Lastovo) that each year creates an effigy of a Turkish soldier. The locals parade him through the streets and then burn him in effigy.
Apparently, hundreds of years ago, when the island was at war with Turkey, a lone Turk washed up on shore. The locals took to chasing and torturing the poor fellow all the way from the beaches to the highest hill. It all ended when they beat him senseless and set him alight.
Now, each year they celebrate the fact that they saved themselves from a half drowned, singular Turk.
In comparison, Guy Fawkes day seems a little less odd.
Glad to hear you have plans to quit! You at least have to do it before your kids are teenagers. Otherwise you wont have a scolding leg to stand on when Ailla comes home with a detention for smoking at school.
Thanks sn for that info about that tradition in Lastovo. So many traditions remain today for which people have little regard (or knowledge) of the origin. My sister made it to 9 without knowing what Christmas was all about other than getting presents. I can't decide if this is a good or a bad thing. Maybe a bit of both.
I think that all the celebrated of this age are little strange ones... and often they have a false and profane sapor , this because people it's always more and more materialist or habitudinal. often I ask myself , but why we celebrate the Christmas ? for habit or truly for God, I, personally , am a catholic person, but I must admit that growing, what it was for me the true spirit of the celebration is faded. In any case I express all my solidarity for this man :)
P.s. The Pic is Amzing!!!!! O.O really! .. Gaz is .. is really beutiful :D ( i love his smile ) , and Ailla is really an Angel :) .. I believe that it will be mine Wallpapers for a lot of time :P
Ah the good old days. My brother and I also used to be subjected to the slipper and cane punishment, with the added luxury of "the ruler" - which as it's name suggests means cracking a wooden ruler solidly across a small child's palms ten times each. God bless the teachers and nuns at our Roman Catholic school. They were merciful indeed.
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