Saturday, November 05, 2005

Remember, Remember the 5th of November: 400 years of Guy Fawkes

Four hundred years ago today a bunch of guys (and one Guy) tried to blow up the English Parliament. They had a beef with James I about restoring Catholicism to Protestant England - it's more complicated than that, but you can find out more about it here.

Religious unrest, terror attacks - hmmm, sounds suspiciously 21st century. The Guardian has an article on recent books published about the plot, and the Telegraph tells us that Guy had way too much gunpowder (what a thorough man). There's also a nice comment in The Guardian about what happens when a community experiences fear/suspicion of faith. Fireworks all 'round.

To all my English family and readers - toss something on the bonfire and sling back a gin-and-tonic for me. I'm celebrating the day the American way - painting my living room! (Please God, nothing blows up.)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There's been loads of fireworks around here tonight coz of this event. And bonfires as well.

Thanks for the link btw. I've returned the favour and added you to my link collection :)