Remember the Fifth of November “Bonfire Night”

In the 1950s Bonfire Night was the big event in the autumn. Halloween was not at that time much of a celebration. Trick or Treat came over from America later in the last century, along with supermarkets and much later fast food.
I remember well the excitement in getting the bonfire together, which was the star of the show. There were some fireworks but not as sophisticated as those of today. We had a few rockets, which were exciting at the time but did not really light up the sky. The main fireworks were Roman candles, Jack- jumpers, Catherine wheels, bangers, and sparklers.
There were no recycling centres or green bins for garden waste and all sorts of waste from gardens was amassed over the summer and autumn for the bonfire on the big night. This would include trimmings from hedges and trees, dead vegetation and any other combustible materials. These days bonfires are generally discouraged because of air pollution and creating CO2. Such matters were not of concern in the 1950s on bonfire night. Most adults smoked and climate change had not been thought of. CO2 was what made your Vimto fizz.
There was also the guy, carefully made to look like a villain for burning on the bonfire.
We used to have our bonfire party on Grando’s allotment up the Park Lane. This was not like the prestigious street in London of the same name, but a rough track leading to the allotments and to the football ground, Latham Park. This was named in honour of a local man, George Latham, who became manager of Cardiff City when they won the FA Cup in 1927 beating Arsenal 1.0 at Wembley.
Grando would light the bonfire. Even if the weather had been wet, you could always get the bonfire going, as people had paraffin heaters and always had cans of paraffin. Soak the News of the World in Paraffin and you would soon get the fire to go. Once it was well alight it was time for the fireworks. “Light the blue touch paper and stand back!” It was a time of pure magic.
There were no barbecues then, but we put potatoes in the embers at the side of the bonfire and they would cook very quickly to make jacket potatoes.
Some mothers would bring parkin with them, which was quite a treat. I think it was a northern recipe, which would have been found in Women’s magazines. Mam always made toffee, which was delicious but tended to stick to your teeth.
The bonfire had died down, the guy had been burnt, the fireworks were finished, and the food was all eaten. It was time for bed for the children, as there was school next morning.

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