Bonfire Night Memories.

[jukel123 8,295]

My grandson came home from school with a peach of a black eye. So I was telling him how I got one similar to his at the same age.

It was a few days before Bonfire night and all the neighbourhood gangs of young lads used to compete to see who had the biggest bonfire. I came from a very big family with lots of boys in it and my dad was away a lot so we had very little discipline. We used to think we were the toughest gang going. We played the same card every year to make sure we had the biggest bonfire. We'd go round mob handed to all the other lads collections of wood and tell them everybody had decided to have one big bonfire this year--- at our place. And so it would only be fair if they gave us their wood. Usually it worked a treat, and we would load their wood onto a bogie and be off without a punch being landed.

 

We decided to play our annual visit to the travellers site and that's when things began to go pear shaped. We usually had trouble there, but this year the gypsy lads never bothered when we approached their collection of wood. We started to load their wood not being able to believe our luck, when, out of the blue, a pony tethered next to their wood suddenly seized my eldest brother by the shoulder. I remember him shouting 'help' and I remember thinking feck him I'm off. Eventually he got free of the pony and the gypsy lads chased us, pissing themselves laughing that we had fallen for their trap. I can still see the imprint of the pony's teeth on my brother's shoulder where it had broken the skin. When we got home my mam took him to get a tetanus jab-it was that bad. His shoulder was yellow and blue the next day. Apparently they had teased it that much that they'd driven it half mad so that it bit anybody within range.

 

Next trip was to the Jamaican's stash of wood. They fell for the usual spiel no problem and I was busily loading wood when out of their house came Lawrence a lad who had recently come over to the country. He had been kept back a year at school because he could hardly read or write. He used to sit next to me and I helped him out with his reading etc. I thought he would not present a problem, he needed me. He told me to unload the wood pronto. I told him the usual story, but he was having none of it. He warned me, I ignored him, and by feck I paid for it. He launched himself at me like a missile, grabbed my shirt collar and nutted me with perfect coordination. I literally saw stars. The fight was all knocked out of me and when I'd recovered a bit he delivered a cracking punch to my eye. Result a belter of a black eye. I started to retreat with my bogie, desperately trying not to blub. Unfortunately Lawrence didn't see it that way and said he was taking the bogie as part of the spoils of war. I remember telling him he was 'dead' and my second eldest brother would be round right away. Next thing I remember was a hail of stones as the whole gang turned on me. For the second time that day I legged it in shame.

 

My brother duly went round to claim the bogie, give Lawrence a hiding and restore family pride. Unfortunately he came home with two black eyes, his shirt torn to bits and a bloody nose . Worse still-the bogie was still Lawrence's.

 

By this time my mam arrived home and demanded to know 1 ) who had beaten us both up and 2 ) where the bogie was. We used to use the bogie to collect coke ( that's fuel for you younger lads) from the gasworks and to bring home a big sack of tatties from the greengrocer's-so we had to get it back. Of course we wouldn't tell her anything. Nothing worse for street cred than your mam sorting your problems out for you.

 

Eventually, by quizzing the neighbour's kids, she found out who had given us both a hiding, so she rolled up her sleeves and went to do battle with Lawrence's mother. I can remember trying to block her way out of the house I was so embarrassed.

Two hours later, she arrived home. She was sitting on the bogie singing 'Danny Boy' being towed by Lawrence. Apparently Lawrence's mother had offered her a drink as a peace offering. Mam had thought it was stout and poured them both a tumbler full. It wasn't stout it was rum. Result? One very pissed mother whose legs had buckled beneath her. I still laugh every time I think about it.

 

The worst part about it was suddenly the pecking order had changed. Now everybody wanted to fight us. We weren't the hard cases we'd told everybody we were. I think I had a fight every night after school for a fortnight. Oh well, like I told my grandson, you win some you lose some.

Edited November 5, 2016 by jukel123

[Kay 3,709]

Bonfire night was as spcial as Christmas when I as a kid, the men of the street would collect wood for months before, coming from an old mining village there was no shortage of sleepers & the like.

 

Old wood was scavenged from businesses .. the corner shop used to bake a sack of spuds, apple bobbing we would all have toffee apples & treacle toffee all made by the old girl who ran the shop.

 

It was brilliant .... this photo was taken in 1969 of the kind of fires that where built ... clearly no health & safety regs in them days the villages would have competitions to see who could build the biggest fires... madness really

 

Then all the men stuck what they could afford in a kitty for fireworks ..... they seemed to go on for ever.... not these incendiary's they loose off today ... but what seemed like 5 mins of colour & the smell was lingering for days after

 

Great childhood memories for me

 

[jukel123 8,295]

Wow ! That beats ours.

[Kay 3,709]

Wow ! That beats ours.

must have been visible from the moon lol

[Qbgrey 4,107]

cracking read that,i dont read long posts well,but that was great good ole days them was,few punch ups never did no harm

[BGD 6,436]

Fecking attack trained pony fair play I bet those gypsy boys were laughing to themselves for months waiting for you to fall into that trap

[JDHUNTING 1,817]

Bonfire night was as spcial as Christmas when I as a kid, the men of the street would collect wood for months before, coming from an old mining village there was no shortage of sleepers & the like.

 

Old wood was scavenged from businesses .. the corner shop used to bake a sack of spuds, apple bobbing we would all have toffee apples & treacle toffee all made by the old girl who ran the shop.

 

It was brilliant .... this photo was taken in 1969 of the kind of fires that where built ... clearly no health & safety regs in them days the villages would have competitions to see who could build the biggest fires... madness really

 

Then all the men stuck what they could afford in a kitty for fireworks ..... they seemed to go on for ever.... not these incendiary's they loose off today ... but what seemed like 5 mins of colour & the smell was lingering for days after

 

Great childhood memories for me

 

Sam_Barber_1.jpg

Bout a £100,000 worth of sleepers there in these times

[walshie 2,804]

I used to love bonfire night as a kid. We didn't have a massive bonfire because we only lived in a small terraced house, just a small bonfire and a few fireworks, but I do have an early memory of my Dad running round the garden with his gloves on fire for some reason.

 

I also remember going to an organised display at the local cub's place and my mate's Dad made him wear grinding goggles and welding gloves. Poor sod.

[mushroom 13,103]

Ah memories ?

 

Had it all; the long month collecting wood, sofas etc and storing them in my mum's back garden. Going out halloween singing, then bonfire night singing to earn enough between us to buy the craziest fireworks we could find. We always had the biggest fire in the neighbourhood, which was only built on bonfire night morning to keep thefts to a mininum and let's face it we had to battle all day to protect it from our biggest rivals. The twats at the bottom of the road who always built their fire at the bottom of the field, ours at the top. They cheeky b*****ds were always trying it on.

 

Remember one day before the special night we were collecting wood from a house which we had earmarked for months, even telling the owner we had dibs (lol) and would collect it all for him. Well would you believe the wee shits from down the road had their eye on it too. When we went round to collect it uep you guessed it, they were there filling the owner with shit about a combined bommi and loading up their barrows.... not on our watch pal!!! ??? we proceeded to have a good old scrap in this guys garden something like 15-20 kids slapping each other into the next day. In them days, no mobiles etc but by eck did news travel fast about a fight taking place we had the entire estate almost, turn up at this poor guys house, it was like a stream of "ready to fight: kids just continuing to arrive. All the while this was unfolding in his garden/street the guy stood there with his brew waiting for the winners to clain their prize ?????

Edited November 5, 2016 by mushroom

[Gin 498]

Some bonfire Kay,- i remember a similar bonfire from old sleepers built as a square tower many years ago, in the pit village welfare field. That was some blaze. Great days.

[Welsh_red 4,652]

Really obscure childhood memory for me. All I can remember was my dad down the garden getting everything ready , my mum in the kitchen making food and everybody waiting for friends and family to arrive . I remember vividly sitting in my dad's chair watching the a team . Don't know why I remember all this but I do

[Kay 3,709]

Some bonfire Kay,- i remember a similar bonfire from old sleepers built as a square tower many years ago, in the pit village welfare field. That was some blaze. Great days.

brings back memories dave. . Walking home the old mineral line and the cut with me dad collecting bits of wood... lol

[Gin 498]

My garden fence was part of the mineral line, trains ran about 20ft from my house, if we timed it right, as kids we would pull the lever on the coal trucks and get a load of coal straight into the back garden.

Happy days

[king 11,972]

Fecking attack trained pony fair play I bet those gypsy boys were laughing to themselves for months waiting for you to fall into that trap

Attack trained pony pmsl.

That's made my day lol

[gnasher16 30,217]

It was always a horrible time of year for me i hated it us all being council estate kids with no gardens it tended to be a bit like Beirut with every block of flats doing a fire and letting fireworks off all over the estate i was a bit of a pussy and didnt like them so would watch from my bedroom window until i braved it one year and actually poked my head over the balcony only for a firework to go whizzing past my ear nearly taking my head off.......f**k all that even these days if i have mates and their kids round someone will let the word out that im petrified and i,ll have all the littluns chasing me round the garden with their sparklers............once they,ve all gone out i,ll give it the " yeah that was a good game wasnt it "

 

Nah i dont see the fun in fire and loud bangs !

Edited November 5, 2016 by gnasher16