ABSTRACT
In the autumn when darkness begins to descend earlier and earlier, the sound and flashes of fireworks exploding in the distance begin to herald the coming of Bonfire Night. Each year on 5 November, a festival of fire and fireworks is celebrated throughout Britain that literally lights up the country in a veritable carnival of noise and destruction that excites all classes and all ages. When I was a youth I watched with increasing excitement as people piled old furniture, boxes and all manner of possessions into colourful mountains that I knew we would soon be allowed to destroy by fire. It is a celebration that not long ago was held in back gardens or at the end of streets but now takes place at official public venues such as parks or school grounds. Whereas once as participants we felt close to the force of the fire and destruction, so now we are distanced as mere spectators. Once it was a night of transgression, danger and disorder but now it is commercially sponsored, regulated and ordered.
