Bonfire night

We spent 3 years in Canada in early/mid 50s. I don't remember bonfire nite, but do remember Halloween. We dressed up in little crepe paper fancy dress outfits but usually fairy tale characters. We would go around with a bag for our treats and shout "she'll out" at the houses with pumpkins in.

When we arrived back in England we were so upset it wasn't celebrated, but bonfire nite made up for it. We celebrated it with cousins and neighbours. Had our own fireworks which we kept in tins and which we were allowed to light ourselves under strict supervision of adults. We took turns and had to wear gloves. We had a big bonfire in back garden and baked potatoes in it. I never remember anyone getting burnt or hurt. But one year a jumping jack landed in a tin of fireworks and set off a lovely display to a few tears. I Remember Roman Candles, Mount Vesuvius, Jumping Jack's, Catherine wheels, Rockets, Sparklers. Happy days

Shouted "shell out", not "she'll"

Never seen it referred to as bonfire 'nite' before.

We loved Guy Fawkes night as children. We always had a small bonfire in the garden, potatoes wrapped in foil cooking away in the embers. A few fireworks and sparklers ro end the evening.
One year, Mum found some fireworks in the airing cupboard, that had been forgotten. It was some time in December. Dad lit the first fireworks, a rocket, it whizzed up into the air, did a quick change of direction and smashed into the neighbour's greenhouse. Whoops! We were hurried back indoors without setting off any more fireworks.
Next morning, on the way into town, Mum bumped into the neighbour who told her about some hooligans setting off a rocket, straight into his greenhouse. Mum sympathised but didn't dare to confess. Good thing she had gone shopping on her own as, had she taken one of us children, we might have let the cat out of the bag. Mum felt guilty for years.

I like treacle toffee. I was disgusted that M&S didn’t sell any (yet sold all the other “tat” associated with Halloween, eg pumpkin cakes and sweets etc) I make my own though now.

My darling husband was a fireworks fanatic as a young teenager. He lived near Ealing Common and after the council fireworks he would scavenge all over for the unexploded bits. One year he collected all the gunpowder and put it in a milk bottle. His parents had a tiny back garden with a door and sash window looking into it. He slyly buried the bottle of gunpowder partly into his dad’s manicured lawn, lit a little cord and legged it into the house and ended up sitting demurely at the table. A few seconds later there was an almighty bang and the door and window were blasted with flying soil and clods of grass. The window was cracked and the garden had a rather large crater in it. My husband and his brothers all denied responsibility and I think they all avoided retribution from their rather aggressive father. It was deemed to be a passing delinquent!

He continued to love fireworks all his life.

My younger brother has always loved Bonfire night and I was always afraid that he would get hurt because of his passion for fireworks. When he was about 11 and I was 13 I took him into the town hall in Manchester to see a very graphic display, warning of the dangers of things like throwing bangers at people or putting them in your pockets. 🧨

Years later he still loves bonfire night - and at the moment he’s living with me so this year we’ll re-live our childhood experience by making Parkin, treacle toffee, baking potatoes and then watching a few fireworks in our garden (he’s sadly too disabled to attend any displays). 🎆

Oh dear! I'm a wet blanket. I've never been in favour of Bonfire Night though I feel I have to attend family get togethers with fireworks etc. I keep thinking of the fear of the animals - especially hedgehogs. The loud noises must be so frightening

I hate it too, because of the effect the fireworks have on animals. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the one day, but people let fireworks off for weeks beforehand. They should be banned completely for public sale and only allowed at organised displays - even then, why can't they just have the silent ones now? And it's not just animals - they can seriously affect some people with PTSD too. My friend's son suffered PTSD from his military service and even now, the loud bangs can reduce him to a quivering wreck.