November 5, 2014 - Bonfire Night:
"Remember, remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
I see no reason, why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intent
To blow up king and parliament.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England's overthrow.
By God's mercy he was catch'd
With a darkened lantern and burning match.
So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring.
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king."
I can't even describe to you how excited I was about celebrating my very first Bonfire Night in the UK. In the States, everyone posts "Remember, remember the 5th of November" on their facebook status, but no one really knows what it's about. They just assume it's a V for Vendetta thing. Which, it kind of is, but also, just learn your history.
On November 5, 1605, a man named Guy Fawkes and a bunch of other Catholic extremists tried to kill the Protestant King by hiding barrels of gunpowder in the basement of the Houses of Parliament. They wanted to kidnap the king's 9-yr-old daughter, raise her to be Catholic, and have her assume the throne when she was grown. They were discovered, and the "gunpowder treason and plot" was foiled. Guy Fawkes and his conspirators were hung, drawn & quartered, and burned in a bonfire. Since that time, to celebrate the King's victory (and maybe to remind would-be traitors to the crown) November the 5th has been known as Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night. Even to this day, some events have homemade effigies of Guy Fawkes to burn in the bonfires. (In Lewes, they still burn an effigy of Pope Paul V, which is obviously hugely controversial.) Mostly, the fireworks are the big event of the night, though.
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| The most intricate pallet fire I've ever seen in real life. |
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| When I took this shot, I thought they were firefighters. Turns out they're just "Events Support." Less cool. |
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| The Lords of Lightning. They're shooting each other with 400 volt Tesla coils. Amazing. |
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| Yummy, sticky cakes for £2 a slice! A great dinner. Haha. |
November 8, 2014 - View from our Hotel Home:
When we first moved back to London, we stayed at the Holiday Inn on Cromwell Road in Kensington, which has really great views of the city. These were taken the day before we moved into our flat.
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| Also, I maybe took this mirror-selfie in the lift. Just for fun. |
November 9, 2014: Poppies at the Tower
On Remembrance Sunday, Chris and I decided to wake up really early to see "Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red," the art installation of ceramic poppies in the moat at the Tower of London. The first poppy was planted in July and the final one was added on 11 November. By that point, 888,246 poppies filled the moat, each one representing a British or Colonial death during World War 1. 2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1.
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| Tower Bridge, looking lovely in the sunrise light. |
That evening, we walked around Westminster, as they were projecting falling poppies onto Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben). It's strange to think how unaffected we are in the states by the two world wars. It's certainly a different experience on this side of the pond. Walking around, you can still see where buildings were damaged from bombs being dropped. It's a lot more tactile here.
November 16, 2014 - Regent Street Christmas Lights:
This day, we decided to brave the throngs of people to go watch the lighting of the Regent Street Christmas Lights. It's a huge event every year. It's pretty magical to watch thousands of twinkling lights all light up at the same moment in time.
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| Not Regent Street, but the neighboring Oxford Street. Just as twinkly. |
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| I'm adding this memory, just because it still makes me laugh whenever I see it. PrettyFlyForAWiFi should always be a thing. |
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| HA! His cheery grin whilst nearly bleeding to death. So funny. |
Check back soon for our Christmastime trip to Berlin, and also the photos we snapped around London on Christmas Morning!
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