Saturday 5 November 2011

WASTING MONEY ON FIREWORKS



I used to. It was a big deal when I was a kid, before people used to hoard them and let them off at any time of the year. We used to raise money by collecting empty beer and soft-drink bottles and pinecones and fire-wood and selling them. Back in the 60's we also used to raise money by making a 'guy' which was a stuffed replica of poor old Guy Fawkes.



In the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, Fawkes and other conspirators were horribly executed after trying to blow up King James 1. Its a pity they got caught really as the bastard deserved to get his arse blown off .... but that's another story.



We used to wheel our 'guy' around in an old pram yelling out 'Penny for the Guy'. Of course we were looking for sixpences and shillings but 'penny for the guy' was a traditional thing.



Kids don't do that now which in a way is a shame with a tradition disappearing. I suppose it has been replaced by Halloween now. More bloody American culture replacing the British that we grew up with.

With the money we made the standard items we bought were bangers.


Anything that could make a lot of noise and that we could throw at one another was the thing.
The standard purchase was the Double Happy.



This made a decent bang and could (just) be held in the tips of the fingers without actually losing a digit. It hurt and there was the occasional loosening of a nail but it was OK, certainly stronger than the Tom Thumb which was a bit lame. The 'mother' of all bangers was the Mighty Cannon. This was about 5 times bigger than the Double Happy and had a fuse protruding from the side instead of the end. Binding a half dozen of these together could result in a very decent bang and, with enough 'baffling' could do some damage to our preferred target - the letterbox.





For the actual night of the 5th November we would buy the colourful stuff. Mum would like the Roman Candles and the little pot fireworks like Egmont, Vesuvius,  Emerald Fire, Floral Bouquet etc but these were a bit tame. Jumping Jacks, Catherine Wheels and sky rockets were our thing.
Obviously firing them at each other was not allowed (or at least when our parents were watching). I remember setting fire to my sister when I fired a small skyrocket at her. It burnt her wooly jumper and I got hell for that.


Later, when I was older, skyrockets were what I spent my money on. Bangers were later to be banned but manufacturers and importers concentrated on skyrockets and their kind that made bangs. When I lived on a farm in Papatoetoe we made a big bonfire each year and I would spend a couple of hundred dollars on skyrockets. This was in the 1980's so I hate to think how much this is in 2011 figures. What a waste.

Nowadays I think the whole thing is dumb. The risk of fire is even higher than it used to be with the higher use of flying flaming things than before. The power of these is greater and can lead to more accidents and the use of them is becoming less discriminate.

I think most of all though that the connection with past history has been lost, kind of the way Easter,  Christmas and New Years has. With luck this may be rejuvenated so these events don't just become commercial sales sprees but I doubt it. Its more likely we will end up celebrating more American events like 4th July, Thanksgiving and bloody 9/11.

8 comments:

Richard (of RBB) said...

Second used to love blowing up caterpillars.

THE CURMUDGEON said...

"Second used to love blowing up caterpillars."

Mmmm, there's something seriously wrong with Second I think. Don't serial killers start out by pulling wings off flies and killing small animals. Hey, Second and Serial Killer both start with the letter 'S'. Makes you wonder.

Anonymous said...

Those were the days. I remember a double banger blowing up in my hand outside the kitchen at Garden Road. I must have been under six.
These days kids have to watch from behind shatter proof reinforced glass. Poor little buggers!

Anonymous said...

Actually on hind sight I think it was bigger; more like one of those fireworks with a fuse in the middle, was that a cannon? I remember my hand being black and I've always been slightly deaf in one ear.
I also remember dad bringing home flares from the ship he worked on and firing them off. They were the best.

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

Home use of fireworks should be banned, they're just too dangerous, and after seeing the big public displays, the home ones are decidedly second rate.

Richard (of RBB) said...

Second, the cracker that went off in your hand was a triple sized version Double Happy, not a Mighty Cannon - I was there.

Angry Jesus said...

Hey Curmudgeon, I've just read your comments on Richard's post about people putting bloody shit in your letterbox and I'm pleased you feel this way because I have a proposition...
You remember how to recite an Our Father and a Hail Mary, I know you do. I want you to recite three of each, ten times a day, because there are a lot of solo mums and handicapped people out there who believe in me.

Valley Girl said...

All good memories of Guy Fawkes gone by. I also remember the Penny for the Guy going around my childhood street. In teh days before deciaml curency arrived. Showing our age arent we? Well I no longer do Guy Fawkes. My girls are grown up now and we all prefer teh Public Dispays. I did notice the last few times we had thema t home how quickly they went. I am sure they lasted longer when I was younger. As for Fire crackers. So lease they were banned. My friend threq a bunch into a Biology lab at our college. Stupid Bitch! I said to her. Do you realsie there are highly flammable chemicals stored at the back of the room?(In the days when we kept them at the back of the labs - not now - too dangerous. Luckily the Bio lab did not explode, but the bloody teahcer did! We took off at the speed of sound.