Last Saturday, November 5th, marked the celebration of Guy Fawkes Night. Before coming to the UK I had never heard of bonfire night. However, soon after coming to London I was told stories about young children creating effigies of Guy Fawkes and putting them on display for money to buy fireworks for the celebration. In addition, I have learned the history behind seemingly strange festival, the Gunpowder Plot. In 1605 conspiracy by a group of provincial English Catholics to assassinate the Protestant King James I of England and replace him with a Catholic head of state by means of blowing up parliament was thwarted. In the immediate aftermath of the arrest of Guy Fawkes, caught guarding explosives placed beneath the House of Lords. The James's Council allowed the public to celebrate the King's survival with bonfires, making 1605 the first year the plot's failure was celebrated.
My first Guy Fawkes Night was spent celebrating in a park in south west London with hundreds of other spectators. The celebration included a large bonfire in the middle of the green which could easily have been forty feet high, constructed from a wood tepee shape base. The massive bonfire was accompanied by a spectacular firework display which was choreographed to music. The fireworks were set off continuously over a forty five minute period. There was an array of fireworks some which included very large explosive kinds, fireworks that exploded into certain shapes such a smiley faces or hearts, some which resembled glitter that dusted across the sky. The display was coordinated perfectly to contemporary music such as Coldplay, Snow Patrol, The Killers, Muse, as well as the classical orchestral suite The Planets by English composer Holst in which each planet had its own unique display in the sky, for example, Jupiter was large and red, Saturn was yellow, Neptune was a small blue. I found the show to be one of the most impressive firework displays I had ever seen. To make the night even more remarkable, there were firework shows going off in all directions close and far and also small fireworks randomly shooting off from people’s backyards.
Once the firework show ended, we headed towards central London to see what other festivities were taking place. On the south bank of the Thames River next to the Waterloo Bridge, there was a man dressed up in a tribal costume dancing to music played by his companion on a bongo drum. The man was wielding two flaming batons in what appeared to be a ritualistic dance. The river reflected the fireworks which were shooting off in surrounding areas, which over all enhanced the flame dancing river man’s show. The night finished off at the King’s College University bar overlooking the festivities taking place along the Thames River. Many of the students were wearing Guy Fawkes masks. Looking back, I found Guy Fawkes Night to be a very entertaining and unique celebration; it is not often that the failure of an event is glorified, although I definitely saw the historical and ironical significance of the celebrations and thus was able to appreciate the event more so.
Last month I went to my first UK football match; it was AFC Wimbledon against Gillingham football club, the score ended with Wimbledon winning 3-1. I found British football to be very different from American soccer, first of all the stadium the game was held in is much smaller compared to where I have previously seen soccer games. This give a more intimate feel to the game because the crowd is much closer to the players and can feel more involved in the game, opposed to the huge areas the hold many more thousands of fans in America. I also enjoyed the chanting and cheering of the fans for the team when the players made a goal or the referee made a bad call, it was very amusing. The chants for the teams created a feeling of camaraderie that is not experienced on the same level at American games; it showed how important the teams are to each spectator and what a big part football plays in British culture.
Before I went to the game I wanted to know some background knowledge about AFC Wimbledon, since that was the team I would be rooting for. Apparently the previous club, FC Wimbledon, had been moved to Milton keens a town 75 miles north of London. In response to this move, fans decided to found a new club which retained the identity and history of the old one, prior to its move. The club has very quickly risen through the English football league season by season, and last season they reached the first of the professional leagues, securing a spot in League 2, and aim to one day regain the position Wimbledon FC once held. After going to the game it was obvious that this team was founded by its fans through the passion displayed throughout the match.
I found it funny that when a player made a goal the entire team would crowd around and jump on him and he would run around to the edge of the field to face the crowd as if to rile them up even more. It was very amusing that when they just scored one goal everyone would act as if they had just won the game, there was just a sheer unparalleled level of excitement felt through the stadium, which spread from the field to the stands. I suppose I can so the rationale behind it, since football is a very low scoring game compared to most American games. For example, Basketball is a very high scoring game, so when a player makes a basket he carries on with the game acting as if nothing happened. While some may think high scoring games are more enthralling to watch, I prefer the chaos that accompanies the rare goals in football.
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