Friday 5 November 2010

REMEMBER, REMEMBER...

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.


Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's mercy he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring!
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
And what should we do with him?
Burn him!


7 comments:

Geno said...

thanks for the reminder.

Suzanne said...

I remember, remember, only the first couple of lines of that poem, so thank you, Brian! Of course, nobody here in Belgium has any idea about Guy Fawkes' night, so it's business as usual.

Boll Weavil said...

You should have Suzanne. Guido was fetched from Flanders (where he was a mercenary for the one true faith) to be the explosives expert in the plot. Quite a few people (myself included) think the whole thing was created by Robert Cecil, the King's Intelligencer, as an excuse to repress the Catholic population. It worked.

Steven Hartley said...

Ah yes, the 405th anniversary of when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament.

Have you ever seen this documentary with Richard Hammond from Top Gear who built another Parliament and placed the gunpowder in the cells and tested of what would've happened in 1605.

It's pretty amazing!

Suzanne said...

Ah well, you see, Boll Weavil, I was born & brought up in England! And I live in the French speaking part of the country!

Boll Weavil said...

You're excused then Suzanne :-) Still, at least you have a Belgian connection to the plot ! I'm sure, in years gone by, there used to be televised fireworks competitions at this time of year in which a number of European countries participated. Anyone else remember ?

David Weeks said...

I'm always intrigued that we celebrate a failed event. I guess that's what is distinctly British about the whole affair!