Bonfire Night in Cambridge

Cambridge, England

The title of this blog post could also be called, “That Time Mac Got His By A Firework”. Yep, that actually happened. But more on that in a second. After spending a few days in London catching up with a friend from university, Mac and I went back to Cambridge to visit our friends (the same ones we stayed with during our first visit to this university city). Our friends planned several activities for us to do, and we had a whirlwind of a weekend seeing new parts of the city that we missed last time. Among the activities were checking out the Botanical Gardens and experiencing Bonfire Night in Cambridge.

Botanical Gardens

One afternoon, the four of us rendezvoused at the Botanical Gardens for lunch. Despite the cooler temperatures and the sudden arrival of autumn, the grounds were still full of life and colour. We spent quite a bit of time meandering through the greenhouses and admiring the tropical plants (and taking advantage of the humidity and warmer climate inside!).

Bonfire Night

One of England’s main autumn celebrations is Bonfire Night. Formerly known as Guy Fawkes night, Bonfire Night celebrates the failed attempt of attacking the British Parliament/House of Lords. In 1605, a member of the Gunpowder Plot – Guy Fawkes – was arrested while guarding the explosives set to destroy the House of Lords. We were fortunate enough to attend two fireworks displays.

Histon

The first one was in Histon – just a little north of Cambridge. The crowd of onlookers gathered in the field of a school and the fireworks were set up a short distance away. We had front row seats to an impressive show. A few minutes after the display started, our group of four was tired of craning our necks to see the explosions in the sky. Brilliantly, we decided to lay down on the ground to get a better perspective of the show. One thing I didn’t mention about the set up was that despite the clear skies, there was a small bit of wind that evening. Some fireworks caught drafts and the still-sparking embers drifted towards the crowds. (…I’m sure you can see where this is going).

While our group was enjoying the show, an ember blew towards us and landed smack dab in the middle of Mac’s torso. We had all be watching the larger fireworks explode that we didn’t even see this flaming remnant until it was on top of us… literally. Mac expertly executed a stop-drop-and-roll routine that would have made any elementary school teacher proud. With the ember fully extinguished, our group smartly retreated a few dozen metres away from the open field of danger.

Watching the fireworks show took on a whole new level of adventure and excitement. The sparkling embers continued to fall onto the ground and we kept a vigilant watch lest we need to sidestep any further incidents. When the show was over we moved into the light and were finally able to see the damage done. Mac’s coat is now the bearer of a quarter-sized black burn mark and numerous tiny holes from sparks. Needless to say, we won’t be getting into any posh night clubs anymore.

Cambridge – Midsummer Common

On the actual 5th of November, the four of us joined thousands of others at Midsummer Common in downtown Cambridge. There were carnival rides and glow sticks galore. The fireworks started right at 7pm and lasted for a good 20-30 minutes. Thankfully these fireworks were set up quite a bit farther away and I’m happy to report that there were no flying ember incidents.

After the display, the crowd gathered around the piece de resistance of the evening – the huge bonfire. Dozens of wooden pallets had been stacked in a huge pile and set alight. It was probably the biggest bonfire I’ve seen. Even though we were quite far back, we could still feel the heat from the flames. We watched the fire blaze on for a bit before heading back home and watching the movie V for Vandetta – a dystopian film centred around Guy Fawkes Night.

Mac and I had an awesome time experiencing Bonfire Night in Cambridge. It was so great to see our friends again and we feel like we now have a better grasp on British celebrations.

Have you ever celebrated Bonfire Night? What’s the best fireworks show you’ve been to?

Never Miss a Post!

Enter your email address to subscribe to A Taste of Trace and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

Sign Me Up!