Guy Fawkes Night

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This first photo is of Harry, Hugh, and Max, and Mr. Guy Fawkes. On Saturday we had a bonfire party at La Girade. It was outdoors, in what will eventually be the backyard terrace of the Tyler’s new house. For the moment it is still only dirt and mud, so all those invited were encouraged to bring their ‘Wellies’ to the party. Wellies are what they call rubber boots in the UK, because they were originally manufactured in a city called Wellington (I think). Trish and Mark cooked up squash soup, sausages (veggies for the vegetarians), and some sort of onion dish. Just before the party was to start, Max (the oldest son) and I went off to Wilfred and Jackie’s house (they own the winery I showed in pics in an earlier blog) to pick up the wine for the party. I found it very cool that we could drive down the street with two ten liter containers to get wine, straight from their huge stainless steel wine barrels.

The bonfire was a huge pile of rubble produced by the construction work. And on top of it sat Mr. Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes is a legendary character in British history/lore, and he is the central figure of ‘Guy Fawkes Night’, a British holiday that happens around the same time as Halloween. He was a Catholic from England who in 1605 plotted to blow up Parliament (killing all members of Parliament and King James I, a Protestant) by placing a large cache of gunpowder beneath Westminster Palace while Parliament was in session. Fawkes and his co-conspirators were put to death by hanging the following year. The most intriguing part of this story, to me, is the Fawkes’ failure is commemorated by Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night, Fireworks Night) where bonfires with burning men atop them are burned throughout Britain (and in Gensac). This year the official celebration held in London was officially named ‘Bonfire Night,’ and rather than burning a man atop the fire it featured a lion, referencing not the story of Guy Fawkes but instead an old folk tale.

Here is a link to Wikipedia’s telling of the story:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

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