Remember, remember!
The fifth of November,
The Gunpowder treason and plot;
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!
Effigy.
My mother, brother and myself once made a Guy. We spent a few after-school hours putting him together. With balloon head, straw hat, an old pair of jeans and button up shirt. Held stable with an old broom handle and branches. My favourite aspects of Guy were his grey sock feet and rubber dish-washing glove hands. Caringly stuffed with scrunched up newspaper. Apparently that activity really appealed to me when I was wee.
This cloth golem remained a guest in our house for a couple of nights until some exciting afternoon (well, I suspected something was meant to happen).
We lived right next to the beach, so off we trundled, Bro, Mum and I. And, boy, was I proud - we had a new friend even if his fashion sense was completely terrible.
Mum lit a small fire as the sun set, we munched marshmallows with our new compadre and then Mum said, "Okay let's burn him."
It's obvious what happened next. I was appalled with her sudden violent notion to hurl our esteemed companion into the flames of perdition. One doesn't simply burn their dinner guests. My Aunties never ended up in the fireplace when they came round for tea. Even if they did wear terrible 70's trousers like Guy.
My mother smiled and my older brother face-palmed for the rest of the week. (I suspect he had to face-palm for most of his youth after I was born).
Due to my dewy eyes and infantile sensitivity Guy ended up back at our house that evening in one piece, where I promptly forgot about him once Knight Rider came on.
...
Speaking of effigies...
Ah yes, don't have fireworks this year, but did have a handful of dough a while back, so tha's gonna' have to do...
 |
| ...behold Dough Fawkes... |
Doesn't try to blow up parliament. Doesn't get set alight. Doesn't go down in history. Doesn't plot.
I daresay, based on my childhood inability to flambe scarecrows, Guy Fawkes fate might have been considerably different had I been England's Chief Justice in 1606.
... but then again the real Guy Fawkes didn't have scrunched up newspaper glove hands ...
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"Let something go and you eliminate the chances of it being taken from you" - Rihia2k.
