Fireworks

I LOVE bonfire night. I would say that it’s my favourite Autumn festival. It has its roots in rebellion (Guy Fawkes), you all stand around a big fire warming your toes, and then you get to stare up into the inky blackness and watch all the gun powder go off in a rainbow of colour.

Magical.

Mr M&H doesn’t share my love of bonfire night. His childhood memories are either not as vivid as mine, or it was just not a tradition that his family encouraged, preferring to watch the fireworks on TV instead. Last year involved a major battle of the wills, with me practically having to drag him along and then feel guilty about it as we stood in the freezing winds.

Mole enjoyed herself, running between the crowds and devouring hot dogs, then retreating into Mr M&H’s arms when the fireworks started because they were ‘”A bit bangy”. Hedgehog did not enjoy herself. She sat in the sling on my front, with my coat wrapped around her. As her face sank deeper and deeper into her hood, until only her nose was showing with a single drip dangling from it, she could only be telling me one thing: “I am not impressed”.

Now the girls are one year older, a little bit tougher, and I feel that the time has come to start the bonfire night tradition. So this year I’ve basically booked a fireworks display without telling them, or rather him. I’ve put it on the calendar, which he won’t spot until about five days before. Once something is on the calendar, it is law.

Since it’s a ‘staying up late’ kind of event, my thoughts for the night are that we’ll get Mole and Hedgehog ready for bed as usual, put them into the car and rock up to the bonfire at around 7pm. The fireworks start about an hour later, meaning there is time for hot dogs, running around and generally soaking up the ambiance before show time.

There are bound to be those glow in the dark sticks that they’ll want too. I’m ruling out sparklers for now until their hand-eye coordination improves. I reckon we can all withstand about two hours max of the dark and the cold before whining ensues, and then it will be home to bed.

Bonfire night is one of the rare nights in the year that Mole and Hedgehog are out after dark, so it should be a novelty for them. As an extra novelty, we can always offer to wheel them across the field in a wheel barrow, we could even decorate it with glow in the dark lights. They love that kind of thing, and it would save carrying them, which we will inevitably end up doing at some point.

That’s the plan anyway. We’ll see if it pans out that way. I hoping they’ll all forgive me for the enforced outing, but it’s really a night out not to be missed.

Promise.