Last night they had a fireworks show over Wellington harbour for Guy Fawkes Day. This is a very curious celebration. It commemorates the un
masking of a plot in 1605 by a group of Catholics to blow up Parliament in London and kill the Protestant King James I. As an amateur historian I was familiar with the story and also how it figures into last year's overrated film, "V for Vendetta". It seems anachronistic for New Zealand, even with its Commonwealth ties to the U.K. , to commemorate a 400 year old event that occured on the other side of the globe and was really all about religious conflict. A lot of Kiwis feel that the celebration should be dropped and that they should be celebrating Matariki, the Maori new year that occurs in July instead. But who cares about history and religious conflict when it comes to a good excuse for setting of fireworks? For a few day's prior to the 5th of November stores in New Zealand are allowed to sell fireworks. I bought a couple of boxes of rockets for Bryan and we took them down to Oriental Parade to shoot off on the beach before the big show started at 9. And everyone else in Wellington had the same idea. The word is out that this would be the last year for legal fireworks in New Zealand. Personally I prefer to see the professionals do their stuff and handle the risk. But I went through same fireworks phase when I was a teenager setting off M-80s by using cigarettes for delayed fuses. And I agree with his assessment made later that night that there's a special thrill in taking lighter or match to fuse.
masking of a plot in 1605 by a group of Catholics to blow up Parliament in London and kill the Protestant King James I. As an amateur historian I was familiar with the story and also how it figures into last year's overrated film, "V for Vendetta". It seems anachronistic for New Zealand, even with its Commonwealth ties to the U.K. , to commemorate a 400 year old event that occured on the other side of the globe and was really all about religious conflict. A lot of Kiwis feel that the celebration should be dropped and that they should be celebrating Matariki, the Maori new year that occurs in July instead. But who cares about history and religious conflict when it comes to a good excuse for setting of fireworks? For a few day's prior to the 5th of November stores in New Zealand are allowed to sell fireworks. I bought a couple of boxes of rockets for Bryan and we took them down to Oriental Parade to shoot off on the beach before the big show started at 9. And everyone else in Wellington had the same idea. The word is out that this would be the last year for legal fireworks in New Zealand. Personally I prefer to see the professionals do their stuff and handle the risk. But I went through same fireworks phase when I was a teenager setting off M-80s by using cigarettes for delayed fuses. And I agree with his assessment made later that night that there's a special thrill in taking lighter or match to fuse. It was an excellent show and the first time that I have ever seen fireworks shot off from a helicopter.
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