Visited: November 5th, 2017
Each 5th of November London lights it up for the annual Guy Fawkes giggity, giggity, giggity fireworks show. I was there. And to top it off I went to Hampton court the next day.
Guy Fawkes and his Catholic fellows
In 1603 Robert Catesby and a group of Catholics - disappointed that King James I (also 1st of the House of Stuart) had continued Queen Elizabeth I's pro Protestant stance - decided to blow up the British parliament building at Westminster Palace (yes - with all the honorable and honest members of parliament in it) including King James I at the state opening in early November.
Fortunately (or not depending your side of the dispute) an anonymous letter was sent to the Barron William Parker a short time before what became know as The Gunpowder Plot was to have gone off saving Westminster Palace and all those in it. The Royal Mail always delivers (when not on strike).
A day or so before the explosive night was to take place a certain co-conspirator who was charged with lighting 36 loads of gunpowder, was caught red handed in a rented room beneath the House of Lords ready to finish a job months in the planning. Who was this person? None other than the infamous Mr Fawkes. Yes Guy!
Every year since, the British have celebrated this foiled plot with bonfires, fireworks and general tomfoolery. Bonfire night or Guy Fawkes day as it is often referred to is celebrated annually with a months long build up of fireworks culminating in an endless night of city-wide fireworks shows rivaled only I suspect by Independence Day in DC.
This weekend I was fortunate enough to spend Saturday evening in Alexandra Palace Park overlooking the city from North watching the Rise of the Phoenix parade, a brilliant laser light show followed by 30 minutes of a huge fireworks display. (Photos below - last one stolen from online to give a true idea of what it looked like).
A day in Hampton Court
Sunday during the day I also managed to head to Hampton Court which was often home to Henry VIII. For those of you who don’t know much of him, he was arguably the one who set the path to The Gunpowder Plot when he divorced Katherine of Aragon against Pope Clement VII’s wishes leading to the Catholic / Protestant split in England around 70 years before Guy Fawkes was caught and also kicking off a UK Catholic vs Protestant row that would only really come to an end in England in the mid/late 1600s when King James II (no relation to King James I - j/k), was forced off the throne.
The palace had multiple Monarchs over the years which resulted in different styles of architecture throughout the palace, multiple courts, many gardens and even some graffiti (as well as many scratched out names of Henry's successive wives).
The 2nd last photo you may remember as a Christmas card King Henry VIII sent to the Pope in 1533 titled "Head of the Church of England". Does he look a bit like Conor McGregor? - we may never know.
It will be -1 tonight in London - I'm looking forward to seeing how the English deal with snow.
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