Ready to go

Got home from work this evening and was getting ready to go out on a run when I spotted a pair of black gloves with the ends of the fingers cut off and studs on the back. I asked S if these were for Mr H as part of his costume for the Halloween disco at the boys school. Yes indeed. Checked with daughter C who said he NEEDS them, and I said I'd run past their house and deliver them so that he would be ready to go.

It also occurred to me that I could get a blip for today. And it's a blip that meets the weekly challenge for week 13; tradition . I know I'm a bit late, but I'm informed by LovePopcorn, that it is no longer a "requirement" that the photo be in the correct week.

Halloween was never a tradition until very recently, which in a way means that it is not a tradition. The tradition here, was Guy Fawkes night. On 05 November local communities would get together around a bonfire and fireworks would be set off. The men would handle the rockets, the Catherine Wheels, and anything else considered dangerous and we children would have crackers, and the smaller tubes such as Roman Candle. Sparklers were for the girls. There were enough adults for the evening to be safe and injuries were rare and entirely accidental as I remember.

Now, the tradition of celebrating the attempt by Guy Fawkes to blow up the English parliament is fading rapidly due to concerns about fires and about injuries resulting from yobbish behaviour by intoxicated people who never had the chance when younger to learn sensible use of fireworks. Most people in authority, and the fire service in particular, think that fireworks for individuals should be deemed ready to go from our activities.

Instead we have parents escorting costumed children around the community banging on doors wanting treats. The parents are usually also costumed, and often there is a great deal of fun had. The boys' school has reintroduced the community gathering element from the traditional festivals of this time of the year by holding a disco for the children and their parents in the school hall. Here are the boys; ready to go.

Now; that is something good for the young