Blowing out the candles!!!
For the last 17 years the 5th November has been a special celebration for us. No, not because of bonfire night, but because it is the day that I produced my second daughter (who aptly shot out like a rocket). Last night was no exception and along with 30,000 other revellers (and that was half of the usual number who attend) we were braving the cold, autumn air to watch the spectacle that Lewes is renown for. For those of you not fortunate to live near to this exquisite town, it is the biggest celebrated 5th November event in the world - not to be missed.
We first starting join the throng who line the streets to watch the torch-lit processions six years ago when we moved down from London. Since then, although we spend the first part of the evening on the pavement, we soon learnt to get maximum enjoyment out of the evening it was a great idea to take a table in a particular restaurant where we could keep warm, eat and hang out of the upstairs window to watch the crowds below. ( I book the table a year in advance.)
For such a huge amount of people packed into a small town, there is usually very little hassle. Yes, you get jostled. Yes, there are drunken revellers vying for a good vantage spot to watch the bands, magnificent costumes and large effigies that are pulled up and down the streets and yes, one year a woman told me off for pushing (it wasn’t my fault but the people behind me, m' lud). But the party atmosphere is enticing. Even afterwards when the crowd disperses to watch the five, large bonfire displays that occur at different sites around the town, the ooohs and ahhhs are still enthusiastically heard as the magnificent fireworks light the sky. (I thought the elderly man standing in the field next to me was about to wet his pants with excitement as he threw his head skywards and exclaimed at each firework as it lit up the sky – then his childlike enthusiasm was explained when he mentioned his half empty glass of cider.)
Last night might be the final time at our restaurant. By next year the birthday girl will probably set her sights on pastures new as the clubs of Brighton and beyond come (legally) into her range but I will always be grateful for the revellers in Lewes for attending her birthday celebrations and making them go with a bang. (And wish that the cleaning fairies that do such a marvellous clearing up job by the time the town wakes up on the 6th might make it as far as my village.)
Teresa x
If you want to know more about the what goes on in Lewes on the 5th November, here’s a link:-
Lewes Bonfire Celebrations
We first starting join the throng who line the streets to watch the torch-lit processions six years ago when we moved down from London. Since then, although we spend the first part of the evening on the pavement, we soon learnt to get maximum enjoyment out of the evening it was a great idea to take a table in a particular restaurant where we could keep warm, eat and hang out of the upstairs window to watch the crowds below. ( I book the table a year in advance.)
For such a huge amount of people packed into a small town, there is usually very little hassle. Yes, you get jostled. Yes, there are drunken revellers vying for a good vantage spot to watch the bands, magnificent costumes and large effigies that are pulled up and down the streets and yes, one year a woman told me off for pushing (it wasn’t my fault but the people behind me, m' lud). But the party atmosphere is enticing. Even afterwards when the crowd disperses to watch the five, large bonfire displays that occur at different sites around the town, the ooohs and ahhhs are still enthusiastically heard as the magnificent fireworks light the sky. (I thought the elderly man standing in the field next to me was about to wet his pants with excitement as he threw his head skywards and exclaimed at each firework as it lit up the sky – then his childlike enthusiasm was explained when he mentioned his half empty glass of cider.)
Last night might be the final time at our restaurant. By next year the birthday girl will probably set her sights on pastures new as the clubs of Brighton and beyond come (legally) into her range but I will always be grateful for the revellers in Lewes for attending her birthday celebrations and making them go with a bang. (And wish that the cleaning fairies that do such a marvellous clearing up job by the time the town wakes up on the 6th might make it as far as my village.)
Teresa x
If you want to know more about the what goes on in Lewes on the 5th November, here’s a link:-
Lewes Bonfire Celebrations
Just one of the firework societies in the procession.
