Silent Skies Again

The Big Bang !


   Well with last nights fireworks now silent the world gets back to normal and faces the day with the sight of a good frost covering the fens, another of those early winter bright clear mornings that chill to the bone.
   For me last night was spent in the conservatory watching the fireworks rise up over the village, my head full of memories of smoke filled bonfire nights in my grandads garden. Old "R.Whites" lemonade bottles set into the ground with those thick stemmed wooden rockets placed inside ready to fire off over the river.
   The timber post onto which those worm curled Catherine wheels were nailed and bonfires built from pallet wood and gleaned fallen branches from the local woods. The jacket spuds and onions wrapped in silver foil cook until soft, ready for melted butter that drips down your fingers and the smell of those onions as hot dogs are fried and placed in "Days" rolls.
   I remember mum making toffee apples which were never red like those bought from the fair, these were real thick brown toffee and the sticks were sliced from kindling. There was not soup and slices of bread and the grown ups would have the odd glass of alcohol to keep them warm, good I remember those evenings like they were yesterday even tho they were 40 or more years ago now.
   With my grandads cottage being large and thatched there was always a big thing made of the direction the fireworks and rockets were set off in and to be honest I can not remember ever seeing any go near the house, I guess having such a big garden helped. These days people don't seem to take a lot of notice where the rockets head, we always find the burnt out bodies laying around the barn, some as long as four foot and it amazes me how we never look out to see the barn up in flames on November the 5th.
   At least that's another year over and pets all over Britain can now rest free for another 12 months until the next lot terrify them, the poor little sods have no idea whats going on, I can only imagine what they must go through.
   Well it's back to the torch for me, I have beads to make and this afternoon I have pots to throw, I hope to fit in glazing a few pieces to fire this evening also, fingers crossed they will turn out ok. Yesterday was a mixed bag of results from the kiln, some I was very pleased with, others not so, I did list a couple of the little collared tumblers in the etsy shop and already a couple of people have given me feedback on them, you know me, I just enjoy doing something a little different.