The sun is finally up and it’s now officially the 6th of November 2009. All the pensioners, animals and those of a nervous disposition can safely emerge from their bunkers into the cold light of day and be thankful that the annual barrage of fireworks that marks Guy Fawkes Night is more or less over for another year.
I’ve written a bit before about Guy Fawkes Night, or as we called it when I was young Bonfire Night, but I thought I’d wax lyrical about it again after reading the news this morning.
Firstly let me be completely clear here: I love fireworks. I love the huge organised displays that they have at events, and I love the little intimate local ones when they’re done properly. I say this in full knowledge that Scotland Gas Networks have a huge excavation on the road outside exposing a major gas main to the sky, and to raining fireworks…
What I don’t agree with, and can’t understand is why, with all the mounting cases of animal cruelty, violence and horrific injury, we still allow fireworks to be sold over the counter to almost anyone. Sure there’s laws in place regulating their sale to people over 18, and I’m sure that every corner shop and fly by night fireworks store owner rigorously follows that rule, but if they do why are so many youths mentioned as being the perpetrators in the firework stories in the news this morning.
So far this I’ve read about:
A firework shooting in an open window of the high flats in Whiteinch and the occupant then had to be treated for smoke insulation. Seemingly a kid fired the rocket from ground level outside. I’m inclined to believe this was a freak event, but you never know.
A group of firemen trying to put out a fire in a house in Bridge of Weir being attacked by a gang of weans launching fireworks.
At the weekend a badly injured cat was found in Crosshill, near Maybole, with wounds consistent with a firework having being strapped to her back and set off. The innocent animal had to be put down after having suffered for perhaps as much as a week after being hurt.
Last year we had a couple of classics up in North Lanarkshire:
A dog dying of a heart attack after being struck by a firework when a gang of youths attacked a kennel in Bellshill with a dozen fireworks over a three hour period.
A ten month old girl being burned on the neck after a pair of youths threw a lit firework into her pram as she sat outside a shop in New Stevenson. Thankfully she was only slightly injured as her clothes had taken the brunt of it.
These are only the stories that made the front page of papers. I’m sure that there were a hundred more incidents that went unreported, or unacknowledged by victims too scared to report the youths that terrorised them.
I understand that as a kid the desire to throw fireworks at other people is strong, but in days gone by it were mainly small firecrackers that people threw around. Sure they were still small explosive devices, but they weren’t very powerful at all. They could cause some bruises and maybe a small burn, but they weren’t going to blow anyone’s face off. Not that throwing fireworks at anyone should be encouraged, but in the distance past where it wasn’t particularly frowned upon the fireworks were nowhere near as powerful as the ones available today.
If find it ironic and amusing that at any other time of the year if a bunch of teenage junkies, or even a fairly respectable looking businessman, went into a shop looking to buy a dozen rockets packed with gunpowder the cop from monopoly would appear out of nowhere and sort them right out.
I think it might be a lark to threaten to charge the neds under the anti-terrorism laws that the government are so proud of. After all one of the definitions of terrorism is.
After typing that last paragraph I had a look into the definition of terrorism and it seems that legally, in the UK at least, terrorism is more closely defined. According to the 2006 Terrorism Act a terrorist under UK law is defined as a group or persons who meet the following criteria:
(b) The use or threat is designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public or a section of the public.
(c) The use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause.
Maybe a few hours of water boarding and a kicking from some double hard bastards from the SAS would make them think twice about the fireworks next year.
I enjoy fireworks and bonfires as much as the next man, but for the love of god I think we desperately need to do something to get them out of the hands of neds. Be that better education on the dangers, tighter regulation on their sale and use or even to go as far as to ban this archaic and deeply English celebration altogether I leave that up to the nation to decide.
