Friday 7 November 2014

That Was A Week That Was!

Well, of course it was.

It had seven days, each of which had 24 hours, so it qualifies by default to join all those other weeks that prceeded it; the lucky thing!

I noticed that the newspapers all had headlines and the TV news programmes managed to fill half an hour without repetition, so it was not only a week, but presumably an eventful one. However, rather than repeat everything that I'm sure you've heard and read, let's look at my week.

- The Queen Mary cruise liner cam back into Southampton after a trip round the world. 12 of my books went on the trip in the liner's shops and I'll find out this coming week how many of them were sold. If the word loads is used then the company that supplies the ships will put the books into other liners. Exciting Times!

- Firework Night. I have to admit I love seeing firework go off. When I was a kid I used to love coming back from school on 5th November and couldn't wait for it to get dark so my dad could let off all the fireworks. My sister and I used to save up our pocket money for weeks so we could go down to the local corner shop. We would buy one Roman Candle and some bangers, storing the Roman Candle away and inevitably using the bangers well in advance of the big night. The big cakes of multi-ignition fireworks weren't available, and we wouldn't have been allowed to have had them, but a few familes would come round to our house, or we would go to theirs, and our combined fireworks and the bonfire would give us endless fun. Hot baked potatoes and hot drinks made the evening perfect.
Some fireworks disappeared because of safety concerns. The Airplane was a favourite that, together with The Helicopter, shot into the air in a totally random direction and could cause chaos. The other main victim to safety was the Squib, or Jumping Jack, that shaped like an old radiator, jumped randomly 7 or 8 times. It was often set off among crowds causing mayhem. Bangers also seem to have bitten the dust, except for the ones imported from China.
When I left home and until I got married I saw the occasional firework, but didn't buy any, so when my kids were old enough to enjoy them I went to a garden center near Bedford and bought a mixture box made by a local vicar whose hobby was making the more pretty display fireworks. They were superb, and for the next 20 odd years some family friends and their kids would get together and we would do what my parents did when I was a kid. We had great fun!

- I've worked hard this week and physically I'm pleasantly tired. But not so tired that I won't enjoy going out with a couple of friends for a drink after dinner! The only down-side is that it's my turn to drive, so I'll be on one glass of wine, followed by orange juice!

Blog on, Dudes!

2 comments:

  1. Best of luck for the cruise ships, Richard!
    We also used to love getting together as kids for fireworks. Personally I liked it when things weren't so over-the-top - small groups of family and friends, a few fireworks and a bowl of soup. And only on November 5th - no dragging it out!

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    1. Ah, those were the days, Teresa. Fireworks that were pretty and lasted 10 seconds, plus a bowl of hot soup. It was always cold and never seemed to rain! And anyone who let off their fireworks at the weekend was severely frowned upon!

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