Tuesday 5 November 2013

Remember, Remember The Fifth Of November - Journal Page


The Fifth of November

    Remember, remember!
    The fifth of November,
    The Gunpowder treason and plot;
    I know of no reason
    Why the Gunpowder treason
    Should ever be forgot!

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Happy Bonfire Night!


Yep - here in the UK it's a night of bonfires, yummy hearty food and fireworks aplenty! It's a weird commemoration of the night that some idealists, rebelling against an oppressive government and slightly dodgy monarch, tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Yup. Poor old Guy Fawkes became the fall guy (ha ha ....pun....) and since then we've got together as a nation to build effigies of the poor bloke and burn them on huge communal pyres. Don't people do the weirdest things in the name of tradition? Hey - you should see our 'morris dancers'..... yeah...... Anyway, if you wanna know more about the historical stuff you can read about it HERE.  It's all a bit 'V For Vendetta'....



Anyway, the grim stuff has sort of faded into the dim recesses of memory, as these things do, and the party side of things has taken over.  To me, this has always been an almost pagan night of celebration, displaying our fearlessness of the oncoming winter with huge bonfires, around which communities gather, sharing good food and good company, shooting fireworks into the night to scare away the dark spirits with loud bangs and sparkling, bright colours.  When I was a kid, my mum and I used to attend the local bonfire, built by the cubs and scouts. We'd wrap up warm and snug, with scarves and mittens and stand in the heat of the HUGE pyre, feeling the flames almost burn our eyebrows clean off! We'd eat roasted chestnuts, vegetable soup and hot dogs and watch the firework display, the tinsel stars shooting up into the night sky to a chorus of 'oooooh' and 'aaaaaah!'

MY commemoration of these nights of warmth and wonder is a page in my journal!


I used my Derwent watercolour pencils again, because the colours are SO scrummy and yummy and rich, then I added some chalk inks, a little Pitt pen inking and then a whole heap of cosmic shimmer watercolour paints - believe me, this thing REALLY shimmers!


Bonfires almost look like they're alive and the sparks have always fascinated me, so I had fun trying to represent that in this page. It's twinkly. Shiny. I'm happy!

Before I go, I thought I'd leave you with this lovely poem. It may serve as useful arty inspiration! Hope you like it -

Fireworks

They rise like sudden fiery flowers
That burst upon the night,
Then fall to earth in burning showers
Of crimson, blue and white.
Like buds too wonderful to name,
Each miracle unfolds
And Catherine wheels begin to flame
Like whirling marigolds.
Rockets and Roman candles make
An orchard of the sky,
Where magic trees their petals shake
Upon each gazing eye.

By James Reeves. 

Thank you for visiting - as always I welcome your comments and questions. Big hugs - Shroo :) xxx

16 comments:

  1. Thanks for this post . It really brings back memories of some great Nov 5th nights . I love the theatricality and the colour and sparkle of fireworks and your photos and artwork capture the mood perfectly . Very shiney... and interesting - I love the poem !

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  2. Good post, I always remember burnt sausages on bonfire day! Love you journal page, you could enter it into our 'explosion of colours' challenge at Try it on Tuesday if you want, it would fit very well! Valerie
    http://www.tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.de/

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    1. Wow! Thank you so much! I'd LOVE to do that! - Great big hug!! xxx

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  3. Fabulous Journal Page :) We saw some very colourful, LOUD Fireworks last night. Wonderful night out even though I did have to wear my silly pompom hat :)
    Michelle x

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    1. Diss ye not the awesomeness of the pompom hat! It's a classic! :-D I hope you followed the tradition of wearing it eitherpulled so far down that only your chin is visible - or alternatively, perched on the very top of your head, like a flamboyant smurf!! xxx

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  4. fabulous page and post Shroo.. and I am in love with the fox /butterfly canvas below!

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  5. So glad you joined us at TIOT! Thanks for playing along and sharing your wonderful piece with us! Hugs, Valerie

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  6. what beautiful fiery tencles, thank you for joining us at TIOT.EE

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    1. Thank you for your lovely comment! May success find you in your bid for world domination. May your minions be many and their devotion unwavering!

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  7. An awesome page! Love the colours and how those tentacles fill the page! Thank you for sharing it with us at TIOT!

    Claudia x

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    1. I think I went a bit H.P. Lovecraft when I did this - very Cthulhu! Thank you for your comment - it led me to your awesome challenge sites! I'll look forward to taking part!

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  8. Thanks for joining us at TIOT with this colourful project!
    xxx Ellie xxx

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    1. Thank you! And thank you too for visiting! Hope you visit again soon. Best wishes - Shroo :) x

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  9. Lovely interesting post and just right for TIOT's Colour Explosion theme. Reminds me of the bonfires we had about 65 years ago (no fireworks - no money!), we used to shove big potatoes, no wrapping, into the base of the fire of wood that we had collected over several weeks. No adults involved, all our own fun in the country. The cooked potatoes when we raked them from the fire were black charred on the outside, but Oh! they tasted marvellous, even with the occasional mouthful of charred skin. Thanks for the memory.
    Great photos and I love the journal page.

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    1. Absolutely the kind of thing I remember at these 'scout's bonnies' (as they're called hereabouts) - baked potatoes NEVER taste as good as they do when they've had to be poked out of an enormous fire with a stick! Fact!Thank you so much for your lovely comment - sparkly best wishes, Shroo :) x

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