Remember Remember

I loved firework and bonfire night when I was a kid. Our little back garden displays were always presided over my my Dad and we were always made to stand well away from the bonfire and fireworks. They were never very big affairs as we never had enough money to squander on big displays. A couple of very modest rockets a Cathrine wheel several fire crackers and the best of all, sparklers.

Later when I was an 18 year old student nurse I helped to nurse a young 12 year old lad with severe burns from having a firework in his pocket. I never forgot the screams of that little lad as we lowered him into a saline bath each day as part of his treatment. His burns were pretty horrendous and the treatment over 40 years ago was very basic. I often wondered what happened to him.

The results of that experience was my reluctance to allow my own children fireworks parties at home. I didn't mind taking them to organised displays but fireworks at home were never encouraged.

Not long after we came to live in Peterborough the Firework Fiesta began. The first one was held on the Showground and was a great success until the time came to leave. A mass of people attempting to leave the Showground all at the same time was a scary position to be in especially as I really don't like to be in a crowd. Keeping hold of three small children in a crush was no mean feat. After that they went to a much smaller local display for some years.

For 20 years now we have lived just a stones throw from where the Fire work Fiesta is now held but I haven't been once. Each year the family comes to us to park their cars and walk across to the display. While they are away I prepare food for them to come back to between straying into the garden to oooh and aaaah over the fire works lighting up the sky.

Caity ready for the weather!

This year we had two new additions to the family at their first firework expirence. Our Great grand daughter Caitlyn and my nieces little son Joshua. What a awful initiation to the expirence it was. Just as the great bonfire was due to be light the heavens opened and it rained nonstop for the rest of the evening. The little ones were propably the lucky ones tucked up in their buggies behind rain sheilds. The grown ups got soaked to the skin