When we were living in Spain we went to a couple of bonfire night parties ... held on the 5th Nov ... of course Tonight we can hear fireworks from the HMS Sultan Base as they hold their annual bonfire night fireworks display ON THE 1ST NOV And so it will go on, fireworks have been heard locally for the past week and will no doubt continue for some time after the 5th Nov. And whilst I am on my soapbox ... there is a Christmas tree all lit up in a shop in the High Street ... WHAT!!!!

I used to really hate that when we lived in the UK. Bonfire parties started the weekend before Nov 5th and carried on for days. Our animals were all terrified of fireworks so it was a real trial.

When we lived in a village in Scotland the Rotary Club used to have a huge bonfire with fireworks and most people went to that. This was great because they could afford decent fireworks and it got the whole thing over with in one go - apart from those who suffered the after effects of the undercooked burgers on the barbecue
Instead we suffered at New Year when tourists would start setting off fireworks right outside our house from midnight onwards.

Here we live in the middle of a forest so no-one has fireworks. We can sometimes see the ones at the coast in the summer, which is fine.

We had "fireworks" at the start, at various stages during and at the end of the Feria.
Except they were more like Lifeguard maroons used to call the volunteers, went bang only, and were too low when exploding.
Our dog went ballistic on the first batch of 20, but the subsequent batches got a bit wearing and the finale of 50 too over the top.

The were let off by the taxi rank 200yds from us and exploded over the houses in our street, as evidenced by the sticks on our patio and on the roof of the car.



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I remember 'bangers' and 'jumping jacks' from when I was little. Both banned now I think. The jumping jacks were a terror as they literally jumped around unbelievable that they were ever manufactured and sold All fireworks should be controlled and not sold to the general public. I went up in flames holding a sparkler when I was about 3/4 years old. Luckily a neighbour saw and quickly snatched up the hall carpet and rolled me up in it. I remember standing with flames around me and then I was on the floor in a carpet. Luckily it was so quick and I didn't suffer any burns. I have always been so grateful to that neighbour

Ah,spoilsports the lot of you.

I recall buying fireworks from the little village shop unaccompanied, when I was only about eight yrs old.
Used to love chucking those jumping jacks under the ladies feet and watching them dance, never knowing which way to jump next.

We had one lucky escape when a pop bottle containing a rocket dropped over just before it fired.
It shot right through between us at head level, crashed straight through the living room window and left a picture on the opposite wall a charred wreck.

My mate was less lucky on another occasion when a firework appeared to have failed and he was fool enough to walk across and bend down over it just at the very moment it blew.
His face was something of a mess as I recall with quite a few burnmarks, however it didn't stop him continuing with the nights entertainment and turning up at school the next morning looking a bit of a sorry sight.

We have fireworks here mot weekends in summer - including indoor ones!

I remember boys like you

1d or penny banger

That's right Fred ... and the TV adverts "Light up the sky with Standard Fireworks" If I remember rightly the fireworks were sold mixed in a cardboard box but could also be bought seperately by anyone in the local newsagents.

Could never afford a selection box, only loose ones.
The only requirement to buy them was that you had the money to pay for them.
None of those silly namby pamby age limits. I was 5 when I bought my first bangers.

My dad used to buy the selection box for us ... we always had a communal bonfire with the neighbours, everyone turned out ...we were just two rows of houses in the countryside. No health and safety in those days eh Fred

Each street had it's own gang and it's own bonfire.
Once they were up to a good size one of the gang would stand guard while the rest went out to raid any bonfires that weren't properly guarded.

we used to creep across fields and peep over walls and being out in the countryside it was quite dark part of the fun in those days was raiding other bonfires

And what about the food - in my neck of the woods, it was treacle toffee, cinder toffee, parkin - and baked potatoes burnt black in the bonfire!

We raided gardens for those as well before chucking them in the fire.