the fifth of November. Yep, tonight's Guy Fawke's Day, also known as Bonfire Night. After school, HIlary and I ran home to change into warmer clothes, then went to a lovely dinner at my mentor teacher's mother's house, where we got to meet some of her family. All of us then walked down to the edge of the river to watch the fireworks. It was probably the most intense display I have seen in years, with over 15 minutes of constant booms and sprays of light. With the breeze, we were pretty much directly underneath the fireworks, with little bits falling down on us. My neck was starting to hurt by the end, and I was flinching from the loud booms that we felt as much as heard, but it was breathtaking. After the crazy finale, everyone started to look for the bonfire lighting. We were a little thrown off by a tent that seemed to have caught on fire from a firework bit, but once the bonfire was lit, it was impossible to miss. It was as tall as the streetlight. I took some pictures, then thanked our hosts and headed for the other side of the river, towards the fire, which had been converted into a fairgrounds. By the time we got there, the crowd had thinned a bit, so we were able to get up to the fence around the fire. We were still a good forty yards away, half an hour after it had been lit, and we could feel the warmth of the fire. Amazing (and scary)! This was followed by some wandering through the fair to look at the rides, games, and food (my favorite was the hot dog stand next to the falafel stand). I completed the experience by purchasing an overpriced, but totally worth it, plastic, light-up, spinning butterfly toy. I had seen several small girls carrying them around and decided that it was the perfect souvenir of my first (and possibly only) real Bonfire Night.
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