...so now we go from the colourful tradition of the Dia de Muertos to the celebration of Bonfire Night in Brockham, Surrey! I have been living in this chocolate-box like village for a bit over a year. My husband was starting a new job in the area and I used to drive 100 miles every day to look at houses. One sunny day in July, when I had almost given up hope, I came to a viewing. I drove up to a sign that said "Village of The Year", which sounded promising. And then, I was welcomed by this:
...and I immediately thought - I MUST LIVE HERE.
Happily, we ended up in a beautiful cottage and we are very happy here. I knew about bonfire night, but little did I know about THE bonfire night in Brockham.
It seems that this celebration dates back to the 1880s. Brockham is deemed to be one of the biggest bonfire nights in the whole of Great Britain (though Lewes in East Sussex is fighting the title) and it certainly is one of the most traditional. The committee work all year fundraising and recruiting volunteers. Work to build the bonfire starts six weeks before the night, and the finished bonfire resembles a rather large Christmas tree. A papier-mâché Guy Fawkes, around 2.5m tall sits in front of the bonfire and he is taken on a torch-lit procession around the village. It is a beautiful but slightly disturbing sight at the same time.
Excited children run around the bonfire, and parents take as many photos of this lovely display before it is all reduced to ashes. The celebrations start early on - there is a fancy dress competition in the church hall and catering stalls set up shop quite early. People start arriving at around 4pm and the village is locked down from 5.30pm. This year the weather was dreadful, but it didn't stop thousands of visitors from coming and enjoying the amazing firework display. It is easily the best firework display I have seen in my life. You will have to excuse the following photos, as they were taken with an iPhone - I decided to leave my camera at home, as the weather was so bad and looking after the littles was a priority. :)
So there we have it, a beautiful, colourful and a bit bizarre festival on our doorstep. Hopefully next year the weather will be kinder, I will have a powerful flash and a faster lens (that is a hint, hint for Father Christmas!) and I will be able to share more bonfire photos with you.