Bonfire night is celebrated in Ireland on St Johns Eve, 23rd of June.This was widespread in the country up till 40 or 50 years ago, the tradition still exists in the west.
This is also a big celebration in Spain, not sure about France.
Lucky you having Myles at school ! We only had Daily Mirrors (when it was a Labour paper) in our house :)
Noted, Celeste. We get down that way to see friends in Perpignan quite often, so I'll make a point of going out of the straight and narrow, have to feed the addictions. Must try that curry....
Along with the pint of plain, "young woman" :p
"The Workman's Friend"
When things go wrong and will not come right,
Though you do the best you can,
When life looks black as the hour of night -
A pint of plain is your only man.
When money's tight and hard to get
And your horse has also ran,
When all you have is a heap of debt -
A pint of plain is your only man.
When health is bad and your heart feels strange,
And your face is pale and wan,
When doctors say you need a change,
A pint of plain is your only man.
When food is scarce and your larder bare
And no rashers grease your pan,
When hunger grows as your meals are rare -
A pint of plain is your only man.
In time of trouble and lousey strife,
You have still got a darlint plan
You still can turn to a brighter life -
A pint of plain is your only man.
- -- Flann O'Brien/Myles na gCopaleen (Brian O'Nolan)
On an eductour to Silvermines in Tipp, we were taken to Bunratty Castle in Clare for one of those "medieval" banquet things. The serving wenches duly brought us plates of beef and.... spuds! So I said "Aha, this means I can smoke too, if I do my rollups!". I was sorry for the lady, she looked completely nonplussed, I had to explain that if we were getting potatoes at a "medieval" banquet, then we must have tobacco too. Didn't work, "oh no no no", so I ended up with a few other noxious addicts in a sort of latrine room off to the side :)
;-)
Now young woman, what's this about outrageously decadent? Where's mine, I wanna share in it? Please give me a large helping of decadence and stuff the pumpkins (ideally with spicy rice that has a nice cinnamon smell as they do in New Orleans... Yummy!
It was Samain last night in Bretagne ;-) almost the same spelling as in GB.
Certainly not moaning about it Celeste. I like the diversity you find here. I have advised Cara that if you ask a question you get a good response and some from SFN members. :-)
So it is said, certainly the old bugger brought tobacco from what is now the USA and made it popular and has kept cancer specialists in work since. The potato is a dubious story. I have my history of the spud from the Centro Internacional de la Papa in Lima which tells all. The Spanish introduced the potato to Europe in the second half of the 16 century, however it was slow to be adopted by distrustful European farmers. Eventually it was became a staple and field crop that played a major role in the European 19 century population boom. Lack of genetic diversity, because of the small number of varieties initially introduced, left the crop vulnerable to disease, hence the 1845 famine and those that followed. It seems that Ireland had had it barely one hundred years at the time. So, pictures of Fred Flintstone eating chips are fake, how my heart is broken ;-)
Yes, Sunday in London was a bit dead unless you were 'up west'. I never knew parks closed but many pubs and restaurants only opened at lunchtime and some cinemas had an afternoon show but not evening. When I got to university in 1966 and found our college chaplain in the bar having a pint on Sunday evening I think I might have pinched myself in disbelief.
One Sunday incident I remember was the work of my cousin Ken who is a couple of years older than me which means he must have been nearly 16 at the time. His grandfather, my great-uncle I suppose, gave us a dressing down for chatting with some lassies with lots of laughter and so on. Ken said that he was going to convert to RC if he could not enjoy himself on a Sunday. Uncle Ed asked him for one good reason why he would. Referring to the communion he said that they get wine on Sundays. That wound the old fellow up so much that a string of words about the Devil's hoards, blasphemers and who knows what else followed. He tried to order us indoors. Ken told him he was shouting and getting excited which is not allowed on the Lord's day so now he would be damned to eternal hell fires. We then had to be sharp on our heels and off to Ken's place whilst we were still alive.
Makes me shudder. Some of my relatives used to be like that. I remember things like my parents wanting to take me for a walk when I was probably around four. They were told not to take me to the park where they had a slide and swings in case I played which made me cry my eyes out. My father told his aunt and uncle to mind their own ....... business. Well, vaguely so, a bit reconstructed but I certainly remember it was about not going in the park.
Aye, but the Norse brought in some of them and they persist in parts of the east. Different names but ultimately the same objective.
Potato pickers is a great one! The spud was first found in the Andean highlands after 'in fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue... (that is how I remember it). Potatoes didn't really make it to Ireland and Scotland until the 18 century. The traditions are many hundreds of years older. Plus, Bretagne still seems to have bits and pieces of the same celebrations in different forms. I think it is part of the so-called 'Celtic fringe' that was once the dominant culture across the British Isles and large bits of France right down into Spain. Ireland and Scotland probably kept the most recognisable vestiges of the old religions and rituals and have received most attention which is how we know them so well.
Many years ago a friend of mine worked the summer season at the Kyle of Localsh Hotel When enquiring after local customs and sabbatarian taboos he was told he could do whatever he liked on the Sabbath so long as he didn't enjoy it.
Oh ayyyye, being a great patriot, since I had my GPS I have had the Big Yin's voice on it. Naw effin' but a wee crack here an' there, jist frae guid measure ;-)
1066 and all that would have served me well enough at school. Why didn't it have GF written into the end of Act II where they have just the right slot?
I will be having Mackerel, Beef and Yorkshire Pudding and Apple Pie at the Lizard Lifeboat Annual Dinner where I am picking up mine and Cara's "service to the boat" certificates as previous crew members.
Alas David, thou speaketh wisdom, SWMBO will not have it... :(
However we are having lentils and sausage and Corsican ham à la Lyonnaise tonight, so things could be worse :)
Mushy peas cooked with a bit of ham bone (preferably a smoked ham). Food of the Gods. Alas they doth provoke the gas so better eaten with someone you love and who loves you.
Ah, but l'Académie SFN is fully equipped in all Departments, with Chairs in Firework Displays, Paleo-Anthropology, and Spittoon Usage, John :)
Have some good smiles, I agree with your sentiments !