Bonfire Night - Light up the Sky -

Bonfire Night was like Christmas Eve I would be so excited I could hardly sleep. I loved Bonfire Night the whole day was special when you were old enough to be able to be involved in collecting wood, building the bonfire it was the best five years.

Going raiding was fun has we would invade Grangetown and attempt to burn down there bonfires which was something I didn’t mention to my parents. Normally it was just a bit of stone throwing and being chased.

I say five years because I was only actively involved during my early teens, by 16 it was a memory. The day would start with me waving goodbye to mum, running to the bus stop to catch the school bus or to see who was up for a bit of hooky from school or mitching, as it was known locally. Then down the lane over Junky Fords where the bonfire would be built.

We gathered and where joined by those with the 24 hour bug ‘bonfire night illness’ the treatment was a day off school and plenty of fresh air and some hard work. We had a centre poll that we built our bonfire around it was an art to build we just didn’t pile the wood on it was placed. Load after load of wood would turn up as the bonfire grew.

I also had to keep an eye open for anyone who could report to my parents about my whereabouts. All I needed for someone to say they seen me at the bonfire for me to be busted. For dinner, a run down to Jimmy’s for a big bag of chips and a bottle of pop before getting back to work.

Then to finish the deception. Home to pretend you had such a great day at school knowing come Saturday evening your trip to the confessional box, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been one week since my last confession" knowing lying was worth an extra Our Father or Hail Mary it was tough being a Catholic.

We had the perfect piece of waste ground for our bonfire well away from homes and next to a park with plenty of space for families to let off fireworks. It’s a free firework display. We had fireworks out our back yard and I was always pushing my dad to get on with it so I could run around to the bonfire for the lighting.

Today bonfires are a rarity with waste ground disappearing. Junky Fords now has the Butetown Link Road running through it. There is nowhere to have a bonfire in my old stomping ground even if today’s kids were interested.