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One of the big advantages of cobbled streets was that the cobbles didn't melt when you lit a bloody big fire on top of them. We always used to have our fire in the middle of the street. There was a shop "Parry's" half way down the street, and the heat of the fire used to crack their windows.

We used to drop spuds into the hot coals, no aluminium foil or anything. When the outside turned black, we would peel away the burnt bits and eat the centres. Mind you anybody could buy fireworks then, even kids.

I well remember one November, myself and friends bought some penny bangers and took off for the memo' gardens with jam jars. We wrapped plasticene around the base of a banger to weigh it down, lit the fuse and when it was fizzing well chuck it in the goldfish pond. The resulting explosion would stun the fish, and we would haul them out by hand, put them in our jam jars with water and take them home. All the kids on our street had pet fish goldfish that winter.

Hugs Alison

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It took me a while and exercised my brain more than usual , but finally there's only one.    

We don’t have village bonfires any more. Our parish council would go spare if there was a burnt patch on their precious Glebe Field. Years ago, when our kids and their friends were much younger, I and

LOL Alison! That's funny.

Yes, we had a bonfire in our back garden and dad would let off the fireworks. Bottle rockets, Catherine wheels pinned to the fence. He'd buy me a box of assorted fireworks. I used to do 'penny for the guy' on the corner near the number 22 bus terminus across the road, and catch folks as they got off the bus. That money went on fireworks too.

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And don't forget the odd old pram with a mate dressed up as Guy Fawkes in it while out collecting for pennies!

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Penny for the guy. Penny for the guy.

Remember, remember.

The fifth of November

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

We used to dress up an old bolster, stick it in a pram and chant the above whilst collecting money for fireworks at the front of the Midland Station. We used to do okay too. Then our Guy Fawkes would go on top of the bonfire. And we would all cheer as he burnt.

It's funny to think that as kids we were enacting an historical event going back hundreds of years, which had been passed down from generation to generation. The younger kids took over when the older ones had moved on.

Hugs Alison

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My dad would make bonfire toffee with black treacle, and peanut brittle with toasted peanuts. This is the only time of year he would make these 2 things.

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I was in Nottm last November & honestly the fireworks were exploding around us for at least 2 weeks before & one week after it was like bloody Beirut. Christ knows where they get the money from those kids ,probably mugging ...............LOL Hope not I was just joking!

It was really smoky too,didn't see any organised displays,mind you we spent most of the time in the pub or in a restaurant so we wouldn't would we? ;)

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There are plenty of free as well as paying fire work displays round about Nottingham that night as well as before and after that night too Caz. It's just you spend most of the time while over here in pubs and restaurants quaffing copious amounts of Bulgarian red Meduk. The next time you and hubby are visiting will be a good chance for you to visit Brew house yard to re-live yesteryear.

PS, two days ago I stood in my upstairs office looking out of window which looks over parts of the city and there was the biggest firework display happening, where or what was the occasion I haven't the foggiest, the next night exactly the same thing happened.

To get back on topic, I too as a child use to build a bonfire in our back garden, one year which I don't recall we built one on the green, Stan my recall the date of that, sometime in the late fifties I reckon. I remember the neighbours helped with the refreshments that year, hot dogs mushy peas and jacket spuds where generously handed around to the delight of all.

Bip. :Fool:

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I went to the Brewhouse Museum Den,what a fantastic place to reminisce.Mind you I had to pass the trip................ thumbsup

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  • 8 months later...

When i/we were kids, we had bonfire night on whichever November 5th fell on, apart from Sunday i recall, so, can someone tell me why we now have almost a week of it? This year it falls on Monday, but so far have had fireworks going off almost non stop since the Friday before.

Im not against it at all, its just that ive been lumbered with a number of cats, and trying to keep the buggers in has become a pain in the arse, especially as its spread over so many days!

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I made a bit of a cock up at Morrisons last night £45 bought this lot (I got the big rockets and the two 'Big' fireworks for free

fireworks001.jpg

Note the can of fly spray to give an idea of size

fireworks002.jpg

Now you know why they are going off for so long cos it's going to take me a week to set this lot off

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You're going to need a bloody big milk bottle for those rockets, beefy! Hope your nippers have as much fun watching you let them off, as I did watching my dad.

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I don't know about the big bottle cos they come with a launch tube ;I just think that they will go so high that we wont see them blow up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  • 10 months later...

You may think a bit early for chat re such? but last night saw a proper 10ft high one! whether it makes it till Nov 5th is another matter! In 1950/60's I don't think it would as burning down rival "gang's" bonfire before the night was regular thing, (still it beats today's shooting of members!) I well remember a large stock of rubbish going up in flames leaned against house wall off Egypt Road, and ours went up once. This was in the days of street bonfires, unthinkable these days esp like when the Chard Street Gang built theres around a gas lamp for support, proper dresden job that was! firebrigade, police etc lol

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Ours was always burnt down by the Walton crescent gang. I saw it going up one year and ran out to rescue it , soon joined by the 'Big Boys' who had done the building in the first place. After they realised I was saving and not burning the damned thing I was a hero (for an hour anyway) It got burnt down later that night any way.

After that we used to collect the rubbish and all the neighbours kept it in their gardens for us to have a mad dash round on 'Bonfire Night' itself, it worked ,because we always had a good 'burn up' after that , (Until they built the blocks of flats on Foxhill road in the 70s)

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  • 2 months later...

Yes I remember well the "Bonfire Wars" in the Meadows in the early 1960's. We lived on Pyatt Street then and all the big lads ( thats secondary school boys!) in the nearby steets got together to build a big bonfire on the "Rec" not far away. It was an annual thing in the days before the organized fireworks displays we see today and entire families would go down there on Bonfire Night to see the fire burn and also to let off fireworks. My last Meadows Bonfire night would prove to be in 1962 and I recall it well because when the older lads came calling for any old wood my dad decided it would be a good way to get rid of an ancient bed he had just replaced. We helped the lads wheel it onto the Rec where it formed a good base for the bonfire which quickly took shape. Trouble was this was Saturday and Bonfire night was a week day night.

One of the older lads a had a broken arm in plaster and didnt have to go to school so he was charged with guarding the bonfire in the weekday daytimes. Sadly a raid shortly after school closing saw our bonfire burnt prematurely to the ground and it was our old foes, a gang from across the fields down near Queens Walk. Then a miracle - despite apparently losing our bonfire wood was produced from more secret hiding places and Bonfire Night 1962 went ahead as normal with a pile about 30 feet high, complete with a guy on top.

I moved to Carlton in Sept 1963 and it really did seem posh there compared with the Meadows. There were no street or park bonfires to go to in our district so from that point on it was a bonfire in our back garden ( no back gardens in the Meadows!) and fireworks fun and frolics including creating a "howitzer" with a piece of grooved wood and a pack of rockets all with bangers attached.... but thats another story.

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  • 2 years later...

We weren't as daft as you are making out Ashley. I lived in Chard Street opposite Liddington Street until 1956 when I was 15. I have no recollection of the bonfire being built around the gas lamp, besides, that would have fetched the paint off. What I can declare is that the fire was deliberately built directly over the main water stop cock plate in the middle of the street junction so that the brigade couldn’t access it. Now that’s thinking. Seriously though, they were crazy days. No thoughts of danger or the possible consequences of our actions. In reality what happened was that the ‘Black Hand Gang’ (Chard Street gang) would go out during the half term holidays looking for rubbish. If we knew on the grape vine that Mrs. So-an-so was having some new furniture we would offer to dispose of the old. We’d travel miles armed with axes, saws etc. to fell trees and fences if we could get away with it and may be send out raiding parties to find other kids stash. Stuff would be stored in coal cellars, back yards, where ever and only brought out on the great day. Second helpings were piled behind the stone walls at back of pavement and the girls and women would sit on the wall. Trouble was of course, it wasn’t the kids that were in charge of proceedings it was the adult blokes and it did become frightening at times. If any neighbours objected they were kindly told to please go indoors (I don’t think). Mothers would come out and organise traditional food and the men would look after the drink. The beeroff was just down the street. Still, it was all good for trade. I think the main beneficiaries were the local glaziers after the heat damage.

As a kid it never occurred to me that the ‘Black Hand Gang’ might have a frightening reputation locally. Not enhanced by my stature I might add, but I do know it was always best to be mates with Keith and Bruce Gardner, George Dalziel , Malc Clark, Keith Parrott, Barry Davies etc. All great mates and brilliant at bonfire building.

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Some names I recall there but mainly surnames, probably younger brothers etc I knew as 5 years younger? def the case with Jimmy Dalziel and Bruce Gardiner, the night Jimmy shot with that airgun I too got hit but obviously not so serious, re the axes saws etc I remember David Holland cutting down a massive poplar tree at back of Wombells factory, don't imagine you'll recall the 2 "garages" (former stables with hay loft that became our den above) attached at back of our house? they went up one bonfire night! Dad slept through it all in kitchen armchair! "Some" incident with gas lamp did happen and as you say paint burnt off, recall someone living above the Hollands on chard street on about sueing for damage to car, that said I wasn't there on the night, too busy with our own

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  • 7 months later...

It's coming up to that time of the year again! wasn't there a weeks holiday just before the big day? half term or whatever? though we thought of it as rubbish collecting week! when I think back I'm surprised there wasn't more aggro when we used to go collecting, not from rival "gangs" but residents! was always few we'd avoid, but in general no complaints when we'd go knocking on doors often in the dark "ayez gor eny rubbish"? "**** off!", lol. See you've got a "turkish flamethower" in with those fireworks Beefstake (the fly killer) it's a wonder those waiters there didn't burn bars down setting fire to such!

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Every year the same old problem with ruddy fireworks...and every year nothing is done...still..gives the looters something to throw at the police horses.

You need a Health and Safety licence for nearly everything nowadays.Yet gangs of hoodies can go round setting off explosives....complete madness.

Public displays only should be the way to go...then maybe people and pet owners could relax.

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