As a young lad I really enjoyed bonfire night and the fireworks that went with them. We lived out in the countryside with our nearest neighbour being the farm on the other side of a very big field - doubt if a firework would have the range to cross the field. We would build a big bonfire in our "top field" , considerably taller than me, from all the tree and bush trimmings and stuff like the pallets which stuff for the horses etc were delivered on. Dad would buy a big pack of rockets, catherine wheels, etc and, best of all "bangers"! which he would separate into boxes depending on type - ie. rockets in one box, catherine wheels in another, fountains in another, etc, He was very organised. Only once did we have an accident when a small rocket didn't ignite properly and shot off sideways into the box with the fountains and they all ignited at once. No-one was hurt. My mother, very much a "country girl" who loved her animals (we had dogs, horses, orphan sheep from next door, and other "poor souls") always hated the effect the fireworks had on the animals.
When I left home Fireworks took a back seat until I married and had children when I thought it would be a good idea to have them for the children. That didn't go well as I discovered my wife was actually very frightened by the loud bangs, which surprised me as she's otherwise no "shrinking violet". Subsequently we went to a couple of public displays which were visually very good with much bigger and more impressive fireworks but the whole experience was much less enjoyable than being at home with your own bonfire and marshmallows etc. so we just stopped being involved in fireworks.
Over the years it's very obvious that quite a number of serious injuries are sustained due to abuse of fireworks and just of late we've had some very serious problems in Edinburgh, well highlighted in the national media, with firework abuse which have caused severe injury, abuse of the emergency services and general distress to many residents of those areas of the city. - google it, there's some impressive and shocking footage to be seen - Just today, on my local news feed, I've read of a family dog which was terrified by the fireworks, broke loose from the family and ran out onto the A1 where it caused considerable mayhem and was eventually run over and killed.
I'm now of the opinion that fireworks should be strictly regulated and not sold to the general public at all. Organised, licensed and insured displays? absolutely. But we need to stop having them for sale in every local corner shop/supermarket/garden centre/etc/etc where incompetent idiots can get their hands on them.
Probably stirring up a bit of a hornets nest here? but what do you all think?
When I left home Fireworks took a back seat until I married and had children when I thought it would be a good idea to have them for the children. That didn't go well as I discovered my wife was actually very frightened by the loud bangs, which surprised me as she's otherwise no "shrinking violet". Subsequently we went to a couple of public displays which were visually very good with much bigger and more impressive fireworks but the whole experience was much less enjoyable than being at home with your own bonfire and marshmallows etc. so we just stopped being involved in fireworks.
Over the years it's very obvious that quite a number of serious injuries are sustained due to abuse of fireworks and just of late we've had some very serious problems in Edinburgh, well highlighted in the national media, with firework abuse which have caused severe injury, abuse of the emergency services and general distress to many residents of those areas of the city. - google it, there's some impressive and shocking footage to be seen - Just today, on my local news feed, I've read of a family dog which was terrified by the fireworks, broke loose from the family and ran out onto the A1 where it caused considerable mayhem and was eventually run over and killed.
I'm now of the opinion that fireworks should be strictly regulated and not sold to the general public at all. Organised, licensed and insured displays? absolutely. But we need to stop having them for sale in every local corner shop/supermarket/garden centre/etc/etc where incompetent idiots can get their hands on them.
Probably stirring up a bit of a hornets nest here? but what do you all think?
