Guy Fawkes dropped for bonfire night

 

Last updated at 11:38am on 2nd November 2006

Consigned to history? Guy Fawkes will not feature at a bonfire celebration in Hackney

 

 

 

Guy Fawkes has been banned by council bosses in east London - and replaced with a Bengali folk tale. Tower Hamlets said it wanted to provide an "alternative" theme to celebrate November 5 and the attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

The council has commissioned a £75,000 fireworks display entitled the Emperor and the Tiger, which tells the story of the "Moghul Emperor, the Wise Man and the Guardian of the Jungle". As a mock Bengal tiger paces a giant catwalk, fire will light up a "forest" to the sound of Bangla drummers and dancers.

Around 20,000 people are expected to pack into Hackney's Victoria Park for Sunday night's display - but there will be no mention of the date's enormous significance in British history. The move came under fire from George Galloway and campaigners. Mr Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow said: "It beggars belief that this council should organise a Bonfire Night without a bonfire or a Guy."

John Midgley, spokesman for the Campaign Against Political Correctness, said the council's move would "explode in their faces". He added: "There's a time and a place for everything and November 5 is for Bonfire Night. It's time for common sense and for people to tell bureaucrats that politically correct actions like these undermine our historic occasions and harm community relations."

One third of Tower Hamlets' population of 196,000 is Bengali - about 65,000. But Bengalis dominate the council and its cabinet with 31 of the 51 councillors. Tower Hamlets council insisted they were neither being politically correct nor forgetting the Gunpowder Plot.

Officials said: We did Guy fawkes last year" and insisted it was their tradition to have a different theme each year. In a statement, a spokesman said: "And this differentiates our celebrations from other boroughs and our events are proving to be extremely popular.

"Our sole aim is to stage an exciting event - on the traditional Fireworks Night - that will attract the interest of as many people as possible. Since introducing the themed events four years ago, visitor numbers have increased from 3,000 to a massive 23,000 people at last year's event. Let's judge the event by how much people enjoy themselves on the night."

Three nights of displays will light up the skies of London this weekend. Bonfire Night is Sunday, but many displays have been brought forward to Friday and Saturday - which means a 72-hour bonfire bonanza.

"One third of Tower Hamlets' population of 196,000 is Bengali - about 65,000. But Bengalis dominate the council and its cabinet with 31 of the 51 councillors"

 

AAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH ROTFLMAO

oh god, that's the greatest thing i've read all day.

whoohoo go bengalis :P

 

so this whole guy awkes thing is real then? hmm how interesting...remember remember the 5th of november

"One third of Tower Hamlets' population of 196,000 is Bengali - about 65,000. But Bengalis dominate the council and its cabinet with 31 of the 51 councillors"

 

AAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH ROTFLMAO

oh god, that's the greatest thing i've read all day.

whoohoo go bengalis :P

 

so this whole guy awkes thing is real then? hmm how interesting...remember remember the 5th of november

 

Exactly. It's an ENGLISH tradition which needs to be preserved (the same as Thanksgiving in the US)!!;)

Someone should blow up the council, that'll learn them.

Exactly. It's an ENGLISH tradition which needs to be preserved (the same as Thanksgiving in the US)!!;)

 

never said it shouldn't be preserved, i just thought it was funny that the council majority was bengali because i'm bengali american myself.

never said it shouldn't be preserved' date=' i just thought it was funny that the council majority was bengali because i'm bengali american myself.[/quote']

 

And do you celebrate Thanksgiving?:thinking:

heck yes i do. why would i not?

 

i was just simply saying that i thought the fact that bengalis were in the city council was amusing. i saw v for vendetta and i didn't know if the guy fawkes thing was true, goodness.

The council didnt ban Guy Fawkes - they just tried something new.

 

It looked very cool btw.

The council didnt ban Guy Fawkes - they just tried something new.

 

Well they shouldn't have. Traditions like GFN need to be preserved.;)

^then by all means preserve it- doesn't mean everyone has to. i know tons of people who dont celebrate thanksgiving.

There were fireworks and smoke, cheap beer and hotdogs for sale. there were sparklers and randy dogs and thousands of people going "oooo" and "awww" in unison.

 

As bonfire night displays go it was ace, and perfectly normal. If it hadnt been in the papers many people wouldnt have noticed the difference.