www.rumblebook.co.uk fire fascination, firework and festival mark fleming fire fascination, firework and festival copyright © 2013 Mark Fleming designed and published by Rumble United Kingdom www.rumblebook.co.uk
[email protected] ISBN: 978-0-9550621-3-1 All rights reserved. This electronic book edition is released with the intention of it being freely distributed. No charge must be made. This only applies to the electronic book in whole form. Otherwise, no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems - without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. Contents introduction 1 fire 5 Guy Fawkes 13 gunpowder 27 the makers 53 culture 87 acknowledgments 102 photo credits 103 links 105 fire fascination, firework and festival introduction So, like a forgotten fire, a childhood can always flare up again within us. Gaston Bachelard he excitement reached its peak before Any lingering romance came with the the countdown. There came a ripple blisters of tying endless tubes to wooden Tof noise from the crowd when the stakes, with fingers made purple by cold. firework lighters lit their portfires, before But, bit by bit, the waiting display grew, the taking their positions beside the fireworks. fireworks readied and covered against the The display stood poised and loaded, ready seasonal damp. Aerial shells nestled at the to make the night its own. Most in the crowd bottom of their launch tubes, fuses dangling looked to the sky in anticipation, their eyes over-the-top, fixed with paper tape to stop picking through clouds of breath and the the breeze flapping them about.