#BonfireNight Again, The #Moon, #Vegetarian & #Vegan BBQs, And #Fireworks

As I said last week, it was Bonfire Night last Tuesday (November 5th).

I had hoped the combination of bad weather, and the fact it fell on a weekday this year, would mean it wasn't so bad for fireworks. No such luck. The fireworks started going off as soon as it was getting even a little dark (so about 5:30pm) and went on until a little after 10:00pm, despite it being quite windy and a bit wet out there too (though admitedly not as wet as it has been a lot of the time lately; it was only a bit drizzly, rather than raining heavily).

A lot of the fireworks were big ones too. In fact, the fireworks were so bad that night that even Lilie - usually pretty relaxed about them - got distressed. Someone suggested part of it might have been that she was upset by how upset Logan was, which is quite likely, but she definitely wasn't liking the bigger fireworks we had at one point. Some of them sounded like they were right outside, even though Kelly looked, and could tell they were coming from at least a few streets away. It was an evening of attempting to comfort puppies, while making sure either the TV or a book was playing to muffle the sound some. I even put the laundry I'd planned to dry the following morning in the dryer, in hopes the dryer noise would cover some of it. It helped with the smaller fireworks anyway, so that's something.

There's talk about making it that only the official events can do fireworks, like it used to be at one point. To be honest, I'd back that in a heartbeat. Yes, I love fireworks, but still. Apart from anything else, we'd have a better idea of exactly when they'd be starting, and which day they'd be coming from which direction. They also probably wouldn't happen in the week if Bonfire Night fell in the week, since the organized events for it are usually held on the weekend... Most of the big events are when possible.

There's also talk about silent fireworks, which I'm not so enthusiastic about. From the point of view of the animals, and how it would help them, I'm all for it. However, speaking as a blind person, I have to point out here how that would exclude me - and other visually impaired people - from enjoying them. So... Yeah. There are pros and cons to that idea.

Either way, despite everything, I did go to a private firework display this year, since I was invited to one.

Our friends, Lorna and Andy, did a firework display and BBQ this past weekend, and I was invited, as I said. Officially Kelly was invited too, but since we couldn't take Lilie and Logan (especially with how scared Logan is of fireworks) and Kelly's less enthusiastic about fireworks than I am, it was decided only I would go, and Kelly would stay home with the furkids. We don't leave them home alone anyhow - neither have been left totally alone for more than five minutes in the time they've lived with us - but definitely wouldn't have during firework season. Poor babies were distressed enough when they had someone there to comfort them. I wouldn't like to think how much worse they'd be if they were here alone during it.

Of course, even without the nearby fireworks to upset him, Logan wasn't at all happy about me being out for so long, but he'd have been even less happy being so close to the fireworks - even though he is starting to get a little more used to them now that we've had them going off near us so much. I can't always stay home to spare his feelings, even if it seriously tugs at my heartstrings to walk away when I hear him cry as I walk out of the door. I went through the same thing with Kero. So, Logan's feelings aside, I went to the late Bonfire Night firework display and BBQ at Lorna and Andy's place.

It should have been happening Saturday, but was rescheduled for Sunday due to rain. Of course, it being the UK, there was a chance we'd have rain Sunday too, but we got lucky, and Sunday evening was perfect weather for it, with no rain, and hardly any breeze. In fact, here's a couple of pictures of the almost full moon, which I took that evening:

The BBQ that was part of the evening was an entirely meat-free BBQ, since Lorna and Andy are vegetarians, and don't have meat or fish in their home. But, despite it being a vegetarian BBQ, I did take some stuff for myself at Lorna's request, just to be 100% certain I had burgers and sausages I could/would eat, because a lot of the ones they get involve dairy or eggs. I don't usually buy the ready made burgers or sausages, but found some promising looking ones from Birds Eye that I'd seen other vegans mentioning as being good, and having been eaten by them at a BBQ, so I grabbed some of those. Had them in buns with my favourite vegan mayo and vegan cheese alternative (Helmans and VioLife respectively) and some onion and tomato. Lorna and Andy had baked some potatoes, so I had one of those with some vegan mayo in place of butter, as well as some onion and tomato. It was all delicious. So, I didn't mind when Lorna gave me back the leftovers of the vegan stuff to take home, since it meant I could have the rest of those burgers and sausages for my dinner the following evening.

Lorna and Andy also had some vegan milks, which they sent home with me afterwards too. So I was able to have a nice cup of tea with almond milk in it, and have some extra almond milk, oat milk, and soya milk, which is never a problem, since I use all three in either my cups of tea, smoothies, or cereal. They've usually got herbal tea of some kind anyhow, so it wouldn't have been a big deal if they hadn't had those milks. It was nice that they did though.

Anyway, as you might have guessed by the above moon photos, I also took the camera with me, since Lorna and Andy said I could, so here are some fireworks for those of you who enjoy them... Before pressing play, please ensure any pets aren't in the room, or use headphones or something. I didn't end up getting the bigger fireworks in any of the clips. Partially because they're too difficult to follow when two people are attempting to work together to operate a camera - thanks to Annie for the camera operation assistance, and firework descriptions, by the way - and partially because with all the clips I took (what I'm about to share is just the good ones we got, which were considered worth keeping) the camera was running out of battery by the end. Take a look at all these firework clips, and you'll understand why. Each one is short, but there are a lot of them.

OK, so... Are the pets out of the room? Great! Then here are the clips:

There were sparklers too, and I had to have one, of course...







By the way, forgive the chatter and appearance of other guests at times... It was unavoidable.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the fireworks.