So, today is Guy Fawkes Day… more commonly known as 'Fireworks Day' over here across the pond. Unfortunately, all I know about Guy Fawkes Day I learned from 'V for Vendetta', so I did a little research:
- Guy Fawkes was a member of a Roman Catholic party that wanted to displace Protestant power in England.
- The party planned to assassinate King James I of England by blowing up the parliament buildings during the State Opening (an event that marks the opening of parliament). However, this was a failed attempt!
- There were quite a few men involved in the plot, but unfortunately, Fawkes was caught while leaving the room that he and his fellow rebels had rented to store their materials which included wood, coal and gunpowder.
- Fawkes was captured, questioned and tortured, but he never revealed the names of his co-conspirators unless they were already dead or captured themselves.
- After Fawkes and some of his fellows were tried for their crimes, they were hanged, drawn and quartered… heavy.
However, I haven't heard anyone mention anything about this history of Guy Fawkes day. Nowadays, it's 'Fireworks Day' or 'Bonfire Night'. Tonight, instead of small group, we all planned to meet up at the University of Birmingham to watch the fireworks show. Aussie, Liverpool and I drove to the Uni instead of meeting up with the rest of our group and we never found them among the thousands of students at the show. We still had a great time, though. I have this umbrella that is clear, so we were able to stay dry and see all the fireworks. They had them running in time (kind of) to music, mostly epic John Williamsish movie themes. It was a pretty fun night.
Today was also Oldest's birthday. I got her a corking kit (they call it french knitting over here). She said 'thank you' a bunch of times, but I hope she actually likes it. I think it's the kind of thing I would have liked at age 11. The Mum got this delicious Thornton's cake. It is so chocolatey!
I also went to Oxfam for a bit today. I am really, really enjoying working there. It's so relaxing! I get to put the radio on and just do my thing! Plus, the people are so nice! One of the older women… let's call her Aggie… always likes to chat to me about different things. Today she told me about her love for Shakespeare and her Irish son-in-law. Another lady, City, and I like to work together in the clothing room sorting. But sometimes, she has to work on the till, so I'm upstairs alone. Today, she found me this great shirt-dress! I'm really glad I started volunteering there. I wonder what kinds of jobs Oxfam has in Canada…
Anyways, I'm off to bed… after I watch another episode of Glee. Being a musical-comedy, it's no surprise that I am totally hooked. Check it out.
P.S. Did you catch the latest episode of Being Erica? That's some good ole Canadian programming right there.
1 comment:
Glad you had a great evening. And you are right, you can't beat Being Erica.
Post a Comment