Is this the way to celebrate Bonfire Night?

Less · 05-11-2006, 00:31

Row over Bengali Bonfire Night

Yes, not just Christmas but the P.C. brigade are sticking their noses into bonfire night, are they concerned about safety? Do they really have any idea about tradition?

At Tower Hamlets they plan:- A show Entitled The Emperor and the Tiger,
a story about an Emperor and his tax collectors!

Produced by a Manchester arts charity, Walk the Plank. Liz Pugh, a producer with the company said,

Quote:

"that Bonfire Night was an anti-Catholic celebration involving the burning in effigy of Guy Fawkes, a Catholic. "We no longer want to be involved in that."

Well yes, she is quite right, at the time this chap Fawkes who was a Catholic and very anti-establishment, I believe the term is 'terrorist' these days, was caught and ever since we have celebrated the fact that his plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament was foiled.
But in all the time that I can remember celebrating bonfire night the emphasis has always been on his failure to blow up the government not a lets stick it to the Catholics sort of night, I have never been to a bonfire party that was organised by religion.
Never have I heard of a 'Protestants only do', or a 'Catholics against persecution night', it has always been a 'hey, lets party and make sure the kids have a great time sort of night.'

Yes, at the time of the original plot the Protestants would have been a bit upset shall we say, that these Catholic upstarts wanted to cause a bit of agro', however these days I think the celebration is more to do with the fact that parliament wasn't destroyed than any form of religion bashing.

So please can we keep bonfire night as bonfire night and not have the P.C. idiots ruin yet another of our celebrations, so far as I'm concerned members of any religion and people of any colour can get together on this one night in the year and enjoy the fireworks, or am I some sort of misguided soul that should be thrown on the funeral pyre along with poor old Guy Fawkes for not being P.C. enough?

harwood red · 05-11-2006, 00:35

For goodness sake, bonfire night is bonfire night and it's fun.... so tell the PC brigade they can stick a rocket right up their %$#*s

Well written though Less

karma on it's way even though you hate the damn stuff

shakermaker · 05-11-2006, 00:48

Shame good old Guy didn't blow it up eh...

steeljack · 05-11-2006, 00:53

inmates running the asylum , my question is .... who is responsible for hiring these PC clowns to jobs in local Govt.?

andrewb · 05-11-2006, 00:58

I didnt see any bonfires.

Went for a meal then drove up on to haslingdon old road and found a parking bay that overlooks accrington, then watched the fireworks with my friends!

Then ended up in the Calder for a bit

WillowTheWhisp · 05-11-2006, 02:52

It has never really struck me that Guy Fawkes was Catholic. I've never seen any Catholics object to bonfire night and I have shared many a bonfire night with Catholic and Protestant friends alike.

This isn't so much making mountans out of molehills but making the molehills as well.

slinky · 05-11-2006, 02:59

Well I have had a great Bonfire night.....and we were all mixed religions lol......come on PC's give us a break.

lancsdave · 05-11-2006, 08:52

Until I read that I didn't even know he was Catholic. Whats even worse is that the comments were made by a charity to whom people are giving money thinking it's a good cause

Wynonie Harris · 05-11-2006, 09:00

...and what's the betting that this "Walk The Plank" lot are funded by our tax money!!

lancsdave · 05-11-2006, 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

...and what's the betting that this "Walk The Plank" lot are funded by our tax money!!

Either that or they are considered a 'good cause' by the National Lottery !!

lancsdave · 05-11-2006, 09:24

They seem to receive a lot of work from events funded by the National Lottery.

Guess what they are famous for ?

Firework displays

Walk the Plank » Fireworks, Theatre Ship, Outdoor Theatre & Creative Collaborations

Less · 05-11-2006, 10:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakermaker

Shame good old Guy didn't blow it up eh...

Dear Shakermaker,
The houses of parliament would like to invite you to a bonfire party, we have reserved you the best seat, you will be able to see everything from where you will be. Please don't bother to bring any of your damp gunpowder we have arranged a firework display in your honour.

P.S. you aren't allergic to a little hanging, drawing and quartering are you? If so, could you please bring a Doctors certificate and we will skip the preliminarys and get straight on to the main crowd attraction.

Acrylic-bob · 05-11-2006, 10:32

I was born and brought up as a Catholic in the fifties and sixties of the last century and never once was it explained to me that Bonfire night was intended by protestants as a slap in the face to catholicism and it's adherants. It was explained that Guy Fawkes and his companions were so upset with the government of the day that they tried to blow parliament up and as good English boys and girls we should all regard that as a sufficient reason to be happy in commemorating the foiling of the gunpowder plot every year. It was only in later years, when I learnt how to think for myself that I discovered the deeper historical reasons for, and significance of, Bonfire Night. I must admit that I am a little surprised to discover that there are still some towns in England who insist on burning the Pope in effigy and reciting the prayer formulated for this occaision "a halfpenny loaf to feed the pope and a farthing of cheese to choke him". Bonfire Night is now largely shorn of any partisan religious or political significance, and that is all to the good. The use of this quaintly ridiculous English tradition to further the cause of multiculturalism is, by any yardstick, to be seen as deepening the divide between immigrant and host communities.

Speaking as a lapsed Catholic and an Englishman, I have to say I rather like the idea that in this country the pope may be burned in effigy without the whole Catholic population taking to the streets in outraged protest and without this annual celebration of the supremacy of Parliament giving rise to waves of suicide bombers and a host of actions in the courts for infringement of human rights and incitement to religious hatred.

I, for one, will continue to burn both Guy Fawkes and the Pope in effigy every year, until it becomes illegal, under climate change legislation, to hold public bonfires.

shakermaker · 05-11-2006, 10:32

Dear Less....look up 'sarcasm', then mix it in with a little irony...and then catch up

chav1 · 05-11-2006, 11:28

George Galloway was on the radio about this very council the other day and he had spoke to them asking about this pathetic pln they had and was assured that eachyear they would celibrate somthing different but next year would be the traditional bomfire night.Gearge Galloway enquired as to whatthe council were calling christmas this year and pointed out the same disgusting thing that it was public money paying for this unwanted celibration.