Remember, Remember how bonfire night used to be?...

Remember remember the 5th of... or was it the 3rd, 4th, 6th or 10th. That's just the trouble these days you never know when the day is any more because of the trend towards weekend-only fireworks displays. This has the effect of it not being quite the same anymore, for me anyway. It hissed down with rain on Friday evening (the 6th November by the way) but apparently the Slade school display, which is always a good one, did still go ahead. I had intended to go along but, due to a sick daughter, decided wisely that it wasn't such a good idea. Apparently the Dunorlan Park spectacular event (on Saturday 7th November in case you were wondering) was just that: spectacular. Its a good location with it's natural amphitheatre; and over looking the lake with all the reflections of multicoloured stars and rockets adding to the spectacle. Rumour has it that the organisers spent about £9,ooo on gunpowder so that they could blow up Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Kent County Council's offices, er sorry, no I mean so they could put on a wonderful display of pyrotechnics! Interestingly Thursday night, that is November 5th itself (remember!) was very quiet indeed as I drove home late from work. The air was still and actually it would have been a perfect night for a big fireworks display, but not an airbomb or a catherine wheel in sight. So this year, apart from the incessant whooshing, banging, whizzing, fizzing and cracking and the free displays from my upstairs windows, I haven't actually been to see any fireworks at all. Oh apart, that is, from the ones after every night of the festival of music and, of course, fireworks over Tonbridge Castle in the summer (remember, remember the 5th August... now that doesn't quite work does it!) and every time someone has a landmark birthday party. In fact firework night could just about be any night of the year these days and I for one think that that's a bit sad. I can just about still clearly remember my 5th November when I were a lad growing up in the wilds of Lincolnshire when we had a small display, always on Gut Fawkes night itself, in the back garden, whilst troughing down potatoes in their jackets, hot dogs and beans followed by parkin cake, toffee apples and my mum's special bonfire toffee, which these days would take out all my fillings. The 5th of November, let's remember has meaning and tradition. Can't we just leave it at that please people of Tonbridge....