Remember...

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason, and plot,
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Today is Guy Fawkes Day, which (at least in this area) is more commonly known as Bonfire night. Fawkes was born in York, and you can still visit the church he was baptized in, and even stay in the room he was born in, as it is now a hotel.

The story goes that Fawkes, a Catholic, was a conspirator in the Gunpowder plot of 1605. The aim of the plot was to blow up Parliament, kill the Protestant King James I, and bring about a rebellion to make England a Catholic country once more.

The plot failed, Fawkes was apprehended, tortured, tried and eventually killed for his part in the conspiracy.

Today, the foiling of the plot is still celebrated. Bonfires and firework displays dot the countryside, and occasionally effigies of Fawkes are burned.


Last year's bonfire


Last year's bonfire and full moon

I'm not sure if we're going to go this year or not. We were in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, during the wildfires, and we may be "fired" out.