Guy Fawkes Day

Actually Guy Fawkes Day is November 5th but since that is Monday, the fireworks and bonfires began tonight. These celebrations actually represent a very gruesome occurrence where the English Protestants discovered a plot to blow up the King and Parliament by Catholic protesters in 1605. I told all the students to pick one celebration and if it wasn't great, pick another tomorrow night. We checked out our usual place (near Putnam Green) to watch the bonfire and fireworks, only to discover that they weren't celebrating this year. So we headed to Clapham Commons. They had no bonfire, but the fireworks were great. The underground station was closed after the display (I'm sure because of the crowds) so we took the bus instead. One of the strange labor practices here in London is that when a bus driver reaches the end of his shift, he stops the bus at the next stop and everyone must exit and wait for the next bus. That happened at Traflager Square, so we just walked home from there. Downtown London is really very walkable.