When I was little, Bonfire night was a big event! We were lucky because we had a big garden, we had the space for a big bonfire, and to be able to set off fireworks. We often had neighbours and friends over and to stay, and it just felt like the most fun, a big social occasion.
We had the build up, of making our Guy Fawkes (or on one occasion we made “Gal” Fawkes!!) Prepping all the food and making sure the fireworks were safely kept in a tin in the shed!?!
I fondly remember my Mum getting us all wrapped up in layers of jumpers, coats, hats, scarves and gloves. And it's firmly imprinted in my mind, holding sparklers in my gloved hand, with Mum holding onto my hand, to make sure I kept the sparkler at arms length.
When my daughter was little, we were living in a flat, with a tiny balcony as our only outside space, my Mum had driven to see us from Kent and she brought sparklers because she wanted to share that magic with her little Granddaughter.
A few years later, Oscar was too little on his first bonfire night to hold a sparkler, but I remember sending my Mum photographs, while she was in hospital, so that she could see the joy on my kids faces at the magic of those sparklers. It hurt my heart that she had to miss out then, and since losing her in 2018, so it's a tradition I want to keep going.
So on Saturday when we had our annual bonfire night celebration I was left feeling disappointed as all the shops had run out of sparklers! I was cross that I hadn't been organised and got them in the week. I had to try and contain that disappointment, knowing it shouldn’t be a big deal and that the kids wouldn't mind, but when I see my kids faces lit up with the glow of a sparkler I feel that connection back to my Mum and I was so sad when I couldn’t get them.
Knowing how gutted I was, the next day, my good friend Vicky dropped some round, I wasn't expecting it and it honestly meant SO much. A true friend to know how important it was to me, and an extra special memory to take away from it for this year. I got the camera out and captured some pics of my two, with their faces aglow so I can hold onto that memory for ever.
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