Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November!

Clapham Common South Side

Walking towards Clapham Common Station-glad I was not in a car because they were not moving much unless they were turning around!

All the people standing outside the Windmill. There were thousands of people watching the fireworks!

Trying to make my way to Clapham Common the meet Lauren after the fireworks with a few thousand of my friends!

Outside the bar we met at. Only a few people out looking for a drink or two!

So, Bonfire Night/GuyFawke's Night is actually something I don't have to Wikipedia to know what it is! When we did the tour of the Houses of Parliament, they let us know the story behind it (until that tour I had no idea this holiday even existed, and it's basically like England's 4th of July-minus the whole independence thing, so, it's kinda a big deal...). I had agreed to meet Lauren at a pub in Clapham Common, and her being Austrailian, and me being American, we had NO idea how big of a deal this was. Clapham was packed! They were only allowing people to come out of the tube stations at Clapham South, Clapham Common, and Clapham North to allow all trains to go there for the fireworks instead of running the line into central London, and it's not like there weren't 10 other huge fireworks shows in London at least! Needless to say, these pictures are meant to capture the fireworks, chaos, lights, and movement of the night!

This celebration mainly marked by fireworks/bonfires (I saw none) and an excuse to party, is the anniversary of the failed attempt by Guy Fawke's to blow up Parliament in 1605. Guy Fawke's had hid under the floor boards in the House of Lords with a load of gunpowder in hopes of assassinating King James I to restore a Catholic monarch to the throne. There was an anonymous tip-off which led to them searching Westminster Palace, and Guy Fawke's being found. After his conviction he was to be drawn and quartered (a not very pleasant way of torture/killing), and he instead jumped from some scaffolding and broke his neck, so, lucky him?

Ok, so I got some of that off of Wikipedia, and here's the poem I keep hearing people saying (also from Wikipedia, it's not like I wrote it down when I heard them saying it).

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, 'twas his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence [or mercy] he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Hulloa boys, Hulloa boys, let the bells ring.
Hulloa boys, hulloa boys, God save the King!

(Side Note: Did not know the word "assassinate" had "ass" spelled out twice. Spell check would not even pick it up with the way I spelled it...)