BONFIRE NIGHT

The 5th of November is Bonfire Night and this year is the 400th anniversary of when Guy Fawkes and his pesky Catholic cohorts tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Personally, if today’s MPs and Peers are anything to judge by, it wouldn’t have been such a bad thing if they’d succeeded. However, each autumn before the Queen comes to open the new session of Parliament, the Yeomen of the Guards still check the cellars underneath the Chamber just in case. There are usually great Bonfire Night celebrations in Lewes but this year, I will have to give them a miss. Mind you, there seem to be more than enough fires in the Paris suburbs at the moment, but that’s another ethnic matter. Plus ça change!