Remember, remember...

I love this time of year; the leaves on the trees turning a golden brown and falling to the ground, the chilly, dark nights where you have to snuggle up with your loved one on the couch every night (possibly infront of a nice fire), and generally a spooky atmosphere, especially around Halloween!

I generally like to scare myself on Halloween and I have no idea why! We saw The Grudge 2 years ago on Halloween and the cinema was packed and the whole audience were reacting as if we were one! It was crazy, and one of the most scariest things I've experienced.

Of course this is also the time of year for fireworks. I love the fact that it's only us Brits who have fireworks on 5th November - obviously being a British tradition! I remember from my childhood hating the loud noises they created, but for some reason always wanted to see a display. I can't ever really remember having fireworks in our backgarden, but I have been to a few home 'displays' too! I remember a friend of mine from school always going all-out and had a huge bonfire with a Guy Fawkes on it too. Then there were the times at Uni when a load of drunk students decided to set off fireworks. I stood well back those time! There was also the new year I spent in Holland where fireworks are a big business and they just set them off in the streets. That seemed pretty dangerous to me, as rockets were just placed in bottles on the pavement and not pushed firmly down into the ground.

A news item this morning has prompted me to write this blog, as the police (or at least one police officer in Newcastle) is suggesting that fireworks should be completely banned from home use. I can understand from a safety point of view and also legal point of view (lots of dodgy dealings going on with them), but not from a traditional point of view! It just wouldn't be the same without fireworks going off all over the place a couple of days before and after the 5th November. His argument was that there are plenty of good displays in local areas for people to go along to which are so spectacular, why would you need fireworks at home? I personally don't buy fireworks because I think they're expensive and worryingly explosive for me (or my boyfriend) to set off! Much better to just go along to a display up the road from me (Blackheath, 4th November, Saturday, 8pm) and enjoy the pretty fireworks for free. However, there are some families out there who don't live conveniently by a display and you can imagine how many people go along. The traffic is horrendous and there are a ridiculous amount of people there where small children could easily get lost amongst the crowd. I think we should have the option, especially for the sensible among us who can handle fireworks safely and carry on the tradition.