Bonfire night blues

I enjoyed bonfire night when a child too but not so much now - though I do like the idea of a community event rather than a garden one. I remember my father setting off a rip rap behind my mum and her friend once and enjoyed the spectacle of them hopping about - not a particularly safe thing to do in retrospect! In fact I think that's my problem; I'm a worrier - especially when the GC are involved!

love bonfire night - always have and always will.
we had a bonfire in our back garden as a child and dad set the fireworks off.
always had fireworks at home when the children were at home.
several years of only watching the display at our local school (viewed from my bedroom window) until my grandaughters moved in and now it's fireworks in thr back garden again - daughter officiating as i'm disabled.
looking forward to sunday night - should be fun.

Well you did ask! Don't know why it says year one at the end! Good luck loopyloo

Firstly a bit more information on onion cooking and mistakes made! The last five years I have been on onion duty for mass catering I.e 15 kg of onions. First time whole onions and spent all day literally peeling cutting and frying equalling blisters, mess, horrendous smell and filthy kitchen and back ache. Over the years used the oven more to generally par cook and soften but still had to peel.
Last year had enough and requested ready sliced (I knew they existed but are far more expensive and the budget extremely low and each year I forgot the previous one!)
Anyway this year got it just right by filling oven with deep dished full to the brim with nothing added and cooked until soft, over an hour, straining as they generate a lot of water then putting in bin liner. It took five hours this year but very little mess, smell minimal and no blisters. My reasoning being is that they are put on a BBQ tray to heat before serving which browns them off so I don't need to present to finished product. Btw I always get the job cos they never make me cry!
Year one

Menopause,
Please tell me how you cooked the onions. In a slow cooker?

Dad used to set off half a dozen fireworks in the garden while I had my sparklers, so a small event but loved it When I had kids we always went to a big fireworks night at the fire station with jacket potatoes and hot soup Then went to local dos with the grandkids which was always cold much more expensive but still fun ...now they are all older no one does anything and it passes me by as does Halloween

I usually have some sweets for Hallowean last year not many but a few callers with mums and dads This year to save getting up and down I put some candles on the doorstep with a tray of lollipops and large wrapped sweets and a little note saying Happy Hallowean please be honest and take one each I went to check on the candals (to make sure they were safe) after the first ten minutes and the whole lot had gone So I won’t do that again

I used to love it but for years we have run a community display that has got bigger and bigger and is now up to to a few thousand. There have been a few incidents over the years, minor but frantic, and tbh I now don't enjoy the greedy crowds of strangers, the amount of money handled and the potential for trouble so my job is to cook the onions, took five hours today, and then I stay at home. I will help all day Sunday to clear up so I still contribute

Ooh grey duster I know just what you mean! We were supposed to be joining our DD1 and family including eldest DGDs home for weekend in their caravan at a nearby site. BBQ planned and we were going to sit in comfort in caravan. It now turns out site is making big event so we can't now just join them but are expected to stand round bonfire-not on your nelly missus! So, now, sadly we're staying in the warm at home and DGDs will call on Sunday (I hope!) on way back to Uni.

I loved it as a child when, in our court of five houses, we always had a large bonfire and combined our fireworks and refreshments. These days, although we usually go to an organised event, neither DH nor I enjoy it very much, and so, this year, we have decided to give it a miss and not join DD, SiL and GS at a local event. I’ve gone off the idea of milling around in the dark with a bunch of total strangers!

My dad once knocked a man off his bike as he cycled past our house, with a badly aimed rocket (in a milk bottle) to our huge amusement and his total embarrassment.

I loved Bonfire Night as a child because it was a local community event with free food: baked potatoes with real butter, treacle toffee, toffee apples, roast chestnuts and delicious parkin - washed down with hot sweet tea. There were lovely generous people who used that one night of the year to ensure my siblings and I went home stuffed. The bonfire and fireworks were simply the icing on the cake.

I was hugely excited by it all as a child, cold feet or no.
Still enjoyed it when DC were small and we had a party.
Not excited by it now though still like seeing really great fireworks.We don’t go to any bonfires now either.

Lots of fireworks being set off here tonight and they are the big expensive ones, not just the yobs throwing bangers to annoy people.
I much prefer to stay indoors until it is all over. I only remember it being bitterly cold as a child but it is comparatively mild here.

I usually enjoy it, but only smaller gatherings, not the huge crowds.
The thing that gets me down is that fireworks started last weekend (before Hallowe'en) and will now carry on almost nightly until New Year.