Accrington Web - View Single Post - Is this the way to celebrate Bonfire Night?

accymel · 05-11-2006, 11:05

Again the gov are trying to remove traditional fun - gee we wont be celebrating nowt before long!!!!

Good that they are going to clamp down on inappropiate use of fireworks but they say the same every year & still they get in wrong hands.

Smog warning ahead of bonfire night Sunday November 5, 12:19 AM

LONDON (Reuters) - The government has issued a smog warning ahead of bonfire night on Sunday, and a senior Labour politician called for the annual event to be scrapped as an environmentally unsound anachronism.

With light winds and a dry night expected, bonfire smoke will result in high levels of air pollution in central and southern England and south Wales, the Department for Environment, Food and Agricultural Affairs said.
Labour MP Barry Sheerman said it was time to abandon the annual festival of fireworks and bonfires to mark the anniversary of the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up parliament.

"Here we are 401 years after the death of Guy Fawkes still having a bonfire in most people's gardens, polluting the atmosphere with carbon and the worst contribution to dioxins in the whole year," he told BBC radio.

"This poor man was hung, drawn and quartered -- his innards were dragged out of him while he was still alive -- 400 years later we are still symbolically burning a guy."

Sheerman if people wanted to celebrate the anniversary it was better for them to attend organised events.

At one such event in east London it will be a Bengal Tiger, not Guy Fawkes, that will be surrounded by flames.

Tower Hamlets Council is expecting more than 20,000 people to attend a "pyrotechnic extravaganza" with drummers and dancers recreating the folk tale of the Moghul Emperor, the Wise Man and the Guardian of the Jungle -- the tiger.

A council spokesman dismissed as nonsense accusations that Guy Fawkes had been dropped from the event for reasons of "political correctness".

She said the council had a policy of having a different theme each year for its November 5 events.

At last year's event a model of the Houses of Parliament was sent up in flames, but previous years were themed around London's successful 2012 Olympic bid and the Mexican Day of the Dead.

Home Secretary John Reid said police would have no hesitation in clamping down on people causing mischief by letting off fireworks in an antisocial manner.

Tougher laws introduced in recent years mean it is now illegal for anyone under 18 to possess or let off fireworks in a public place.

The Home Office said new legislation led to a 15 percent fall in the number of firework-related injuries needing treatment in hospital last year in the weeks around bonfire night.

05-11-2006, 11:05	#16
accymel I am Banned Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 7,688 Liked: 0 times Rep Power: 0	Re: Is this the way to celebrate Bonfire Night? Again the gov are trying to remove traditional fun - gee we wont be celebrating nowt before long!!!! Good that they are going to clamp down on inappropiate use of fireworks but they say the same every year & still they get in wrong hands. Smog warning ahead of bonfire night Sunday November 5, 12:19 AM LONDON (Reuters) - The government has issued a smog warning ahead of bonfire night on Sunday, and a senior Labour politician called for the annual event to be scrapped as an environmentally unsound anachronism. With light winds and a dry night expected, bonfire smoke will result in high levels of air pollution in central and southern England and south Wales, the Department for Environment, Food and Agricultural Affairs said. Labour MP Barry Sheerman said it was time to abandon the annual festival of fireworks and bonfires to mark the anniversary of the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up parliament. "Here we are 401 years after the death of Guy Fawkes still having a bonfire in most people's gardens, polluting the atmosphere with carbon and the worst contribution to dioxins in the whole year," he told BBC radio. "This poor man was hung, drawn and quartered -- his innards were dragged out of him while he was still alive -- 400 years later we are still symbolically burning a guy." Sheerman if people wanted to celebrate the anniversary it was better for them to attend organised events. At one such event in east London it will be a Bengal Tiger, not Guy Fawkes, that will be surrounded by flames. Tower Hamlets Council is expecting more than 20,000 people to attend a "pyrotechnic extravaganza" with drummers and dancers recreating the folk tale of the Moghul Emperor, the Wise Man and the Guardian of the Jungle -- the tiger. A council spokesman dismissed as nonsense accusations that Guy Fawkes had been dropped from the event for reasons of "political correctness". She said the council had a policy of having a different theme each year for its November 5 events. At last year's event a model of the Houses of Parliament was sent up in flames, but previous years were themed around London's successful 2012 Olympic bid and the Mexican Day of the Dead. Home Secretary John Reid said police would have no hesitation in clamping down on people causing mischief by letting off fireworks in an antisocial manner. Tougher laws introduced in recent years mean it is now illegal for anyone under 18 to possess or let off fireworks in a public place. The Home Office said new legislation led to a 15 percent fall in the number of firework-related injuries needing treatment in hospital last year in the weeks around bonfire night. Last edited by accymel; 05-11-2006 at 11:08.