My Sunday Photo

Robertsbridge Bonfire. Last of the season.

Hastings Bonfire 2014

Hastings Bonfire took place a few weeks ago now but I thought I would share a few photos from the night.  I don't have many photos as its quite hard to take photos whilst processing with a toddler surrounded by flaming torches.  I'm sure you understand!

Did you go to any bonfire celebrations with your family?  I've written quite a few posts linked to bonfire season on my blog which you can find here but Papa Owl has written a post all about the origins of bonfire, and why it's so popular in Sussex!

Remember Remember

This is a guest post by Papa Owl.

The 5^th of November is celebrated with passion in the Laughing Owl Household. Across the country bonfire and firework displays takes place to commemorate the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. Most people will have heard of Guy Fawkes but what was so significant about this attempted act of terrorism that it is still remembered today?  

Here in Sussex there is a great and long Bonfire tradition that is as strong today as ever. But what is this tradition? Why is it still so strong in Sussex you may ask yourself? The answer to this question goes back over 400 years to a time when Henry VIII ruled England. As with many monarchs over the years Henry wished for a son that would follow his reign. His marriage to Catherine of Aragon had failed to produce the son that he so desired, the only successful pregnancy yielding a daughter, who was to become ‘Bloody’ Queen Mary. As Catherine aged and become less likely to bear the much longed for son, Henry looked to have his marriage annulled by the Roman Catholic Church. Henry attempted to persuade the then Pope, Clement VII to annul the marriage in order that he could marry a young Anne Boleyn, but Clement would not do this. So was set in motion a series of events that culminated in a man from York being found with ‘3 scores barrels of powder’ laid below the Houses of Parliament on 5^th November 1605.

Henry could not persuade Pope Clement and England broke away from the Church of Rome and papal authority. Henry did in fact marry Anne Boleyn who bore him a daughter later to be crowned Queen Elizabeth I.  Anne fell out of favour with Henry and eventually ended up with her head on the execution block in the Tower of London. Henry went on to marry Jane Seymour who bore him the much longed for son, Edward but unfortunately died in childbirth. Henry died in 1547 having taken 3 more wives none of which bore him any children. Henry’s successor was his only son who was crowned King Edward VI at the age of 9. His reign was short and much influenced by a ‘council of executors’ who took many of the important decisions. This led to Protestantism becoming firmly established in England. Edward was succeeded by his sister, the Roman Catholic, Mary following his death at the age of 15.

Mary’s reign was but a mere 5 years, however it was remembered as a bloody one. Mary was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and as such was a Roman Catholic. She attempted to restore the power of Rome to England through bloody means. During her reign over 280 people were burnt at the stake for their refusal to recount their protestant faith. And so the link with the strength of Sussex Bonfire celebrations was born in the flames of religious intolerance. Forty-one martyrs died in Sussex during this time, seventeen in Lewes, the others spread between Mayfield and Chichester.  

Protestantism was firmly re-established by Queen Elizabeth I following Mary’s death in 1558 and thrived throughout her long reign of 45 years. Elizabeth, often referred to as the ‘Virgin Queen’ failed to produce an heir and on her death was succeeded by King James I the son of Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary Queen of Scots.

King James was a Catholic and many Catholics hoped that England would once again look to Rome for its religion. This was not the case however and James looked to maintain England as a protestant country. Many Catholics felt let down and betrayed by him and a group of plotters formed with the intention of blowing up the King and his parliament at the State Opening of Parliament in November 1605. Their discovery, consequent trial and execution was used as propaganda by the Robert Cecil the Lord Privy Seal to fan the anti-Catholic feelings in England. The discovery of what was to be a terrorist bombing still resonates in the Houses of Parliament when the Yeoman of the Guard checks the cellars before each State opening.

The anti-catholic feelings in the country were further strengthened by the passing of an act of parliament in January 1606 entitled ‘An Acte for a publique Thancksgiving to Almighty God everie yeere of the discovery of the Fifte day of November’. The 5^th of November became a public holiday which was marked with special church services and the ringing of church bells.  The echoes of this early commemoration can be heard during our event as the bells of All Saints Church in the Old Town are rung as the procession passes. As well as the more formal church services, large bonfires were lit in celebration in the streets, a practise that continued until the early twentieth century before the authorities enforced a move to more suitable sites on the outskirts of towns following a number of houses being burnt down! Some Sussex Bonfire Societies still maintain the tradition of a raging bonfire in the streets as anyone who has attended the Battle celebrations in recent years will know.

Hastings Bonfire 2014 by Mark Duncan

There are many bonfires and firework displays around Great Britain but it is only in Sussex that they are so elaborate. The procession of torch bearing bonfire society members, the burning tar barrels, the ‘enemies of bonfire’ are not the stuff of a genteel municipal firework display. Most societies will burn an ‘effigy’ or ‘tableaux’ which often depict local, national or international people or events which have upset the members. The anti-establishment overtones of this act to may be an indicator of why the celebration of the discovery of the gunpowder plot has remained so strong in Sussex. The people of Sussex have long been known to be independent of mind and spirit.

Many villages and towns hold their own celebrations between the start of September and the end of November, with the County town of Lewes holding theirs on the 5^th November. This is far from a dying tradition with new societies springing up each year. Here in Hastings we choose to hold our celebrations on the Saturday closest to the Battle of Hastings, another significant landmark in British history.  To many these months of celebration may be an extended pub crawl across rural Sussex, to others a chance to celebrate freedom of expression in Great Britain. Each Society will invite the other Sussex Bonfire Societies to attend their event adding to the spectacle by wearing a variety of costumes. If you visit Sussex during the Bonfire season you may see a mixture of Vikings from Lewes, Saxons from Battle, Aztecs from Burgess Hill and many more besides.

Many thanks to Papa Owl for this post, and to Mark Duncan for allowing us to use his photo.  If you look closely, you will see Little Owl in the middle of the procession.

My Sunday Photo

Hastings Bonfire 2014

Owlfit of the Week

Pinch Punch its Bonfire Month!

I know its early for most people, but here in Sussex we take Bonfire seriously (notice the capital B?). Every Saturday from the end of September to the end of November you can find at least one bonfire taking place in Sussex, usually 2 or 3!

Eastbourne Bonfire took place last weekend, and this was as usual the first bonfire of the season for Little Owl and I.  We are members of Hastings Borough Bonfire Society and wear stripes in the Hastings colours of red, blue and yellow.  The jumper in the picture is the one I knitted last year and is much too short for Little Owl now but the one my mum is knitting wasn't finished in time!  The leg warmers are also the ones I knitted last year, while the hat is one from Little Owl's first bonfire season!

The trousers are from H&M and I guess are jeggings - but they are much softer than normal jeggings.  Little Owl is also wearing a black long sleeved t-shirt under the jumper which is from H&M.  The boots are new and are from Mothercare.  I really like the detailing with the buckle and zip on the outside and suspect they are going to go with lots of Little Owls autumn and winter clothing!

A feather in my cap!

These are our Bonfire Hats.  Papa Owl wears the bowler hat and the top hat is mine, I love it!  The tricorn belongs to Grandma Owl and it really suits her.  However, she doesn't love it, she felt it was dull and needed jazzing up. 

 My cue to go shopping!  I looked for red, yellow and blue ribbon for our society colours, but also anything else in those colours to help jazz up the tricorn.  I couldn't help but jazz up my hat too when I found these feathers!  I love my hat even more now!

But the tricorn.... I'm rather proud of what I have done there...

I hope Grandma Owl likes it!

Battle Bonfire

There's something about Battle Bonfire, the age of the town, the buildings, the history all around, its one of my favourite processions.

There has been a bonfire on the abbey green since 1646 and it feels great to be a part of a tradition that has been going for so long!

Bonfire on the Abbey Green

We arrived in Battle plenty early enough to have time to visit a local cafe.  Little Owl charmed everyone as usual!

I tried to take some pictures of the procession, but you see, my little camera struggles to take pictures of flickering lights in the darkness at the best of times.  During the procession, I'm not actually able to stop walking for fear of someone with a flaming torch walking into me and Little Owl, so sorry for the poor quality, but hopefully they give you some idea of the procession and fireworks that followed.

Hastings Bonfire Society

The Abbey Green

Robertsbridge Bonfire Society

Battle Bonfire has always drawn large crowds, due partly to its timing of being the nearest Saturday to 5th November.  Whilst there has always been a bonfire outside the Abbey, the popularity of Battle Bonfire has meant over the years it has tried various locations for its main bonfire and fireworks.  However, last year it returned to the Abbey Green.  There is something special about that.

The effigy

Fire

Fireworks

Well done to Battel Bonfire Boyes - another great event!

If after reading my bonfire posts, you are wondering what all the fuss over Bonfire is, have a read of this article from the Independent on Sunday.  It's a wonderfully written article which captures the spirit of Bonfire without actually visiting one beautifully.

 

Hastings Bonfire

Saturday was a big day for the Laughing Owl household.  The Sussex Bonfire season defines autumn for us and this week it was the time for Hastings to do their thing.  With so many bonfires in Sussex, Hastings Bonfire Night is held on the last Saturday of Hastings Week celebrating the Battle of Hastings when Harold's Saxon army was defeated by William the Conqueror and the Norman invaders in 1066.

I even received a bonfire present this year - my very own hip flask for our home made Cherry Brandy!  This is one of a set within our extended family, there are two tankards which are engraved with "Remember Remember" "Gunpowder Treason and Plot" and another hipflask "I see no reason" which is a particular favourite!

Little Owl wasn't so sure about Guy "with his dark lantern" but she didn't seem to mind the bangs of the fireworks or drums in the procession - she even slept for a while!

I didn't get the chance to take any photos once the procession began, with Little Owl in a sling and a charity collection bucket in the other the camera stayed in my bag until the end.

So this is us, the Laughing Owls, happy and tired at the end of a fantastic night - well done everyone in Hastings Borough Bonfire Society for another great event!


There is a fantastic YouTube film called "Hastings on Fire" which shows you some of the characters of the evening.

Eastbourne Bonfire

Bonfire Season is finally here!!!  Ok so it started a while ago but Eastbourne Bonfire is the earliest one I have ever done.  A friend reminded me that at Eastbourne two years ago I was just telling people that I was pregnant.  Last year was Little Owl's first bonfire and so it seems right that Eastbourne is also the first bonfire this year too.



All striped and snuggled up

Little Owl had had a busy day at her cousin's birthday party and so was asleep when we arrived, she woke just before we found all the bonfire boyes and was a little overwhelmed at first.  However, she loves to watch all the people and the flames.




What's going on?

It was a new route this year, quite a bit longer but with the added bonus of a pub stop in the middle where Little Owl enjoyed watching the Morris sides dance.  By the time we got to the fire site, Little Owl was wide awake and loved every second of the fireworks!

Eastbourne is one of the newer societies in Sussex having only reformed in 2001.  I can remember a couple of years ago, no one in Eastbourne appeared to know it was happening, guests and staff in the seafront hotels were staring out of their windows in amazement, confusion and possibly a little bit of fear at the costumes and flames.  This year was definitely their best procession, bonfire and fireworks to date with a large crowd turning out!



Well done Eastbourne for a great night - we're looking forward to the rest of the 2013 Bonfire Season!



Knitting Fridays

The jumper is finished, well nearly finished - all the loose ends to sort out but more importantly - IT FITS!!!


Bonfire Jumper

Now its time for the leg warmers!  I've never made any before, I had a play last winter with some circular needles, and knitting 'in the round' (is that even a thing?), but without a pattern I didn't have much success.  Luckily my mother has dug out a pattern from 1983 and with a week to go I have decided to knit both at the same time!

Leg warmers

Knitting Fridays

September marks the beginning of so many things and while the first two weeks are always glorious just as the kids and teachers go back to school, we all know that autumn isn't too far away.

Amongst other things, autumn is the start of the knitting season, and so I plan to post each Friday a picture of my latest knitting project. 

I have a few projects planned which I am quite excited about but the first project which is on a tight timescale is a Bonfire Jumper, which needs to be completed by 5th October!  Luckily this Bonfire Jumper is only for Little Owl so I stand a reasonable chance.

What's a Bonfire Jumper I hear you ask?  Well that's a story for another post!

Back of the Bonfire Jumper