Happy Guy Fawkes Day!

In my youth in the UK this date, November 5, was referred to as Guy Fawkes Day celebrating the arrest of Guy Fawkes for involvement in a plot to blow up the UK Houses of Parliament.  It involved many customary pursuits including:
  • Kids begging for "Penny for the guy"
  • Bonfires; and
  • Fireworks  
The second and third parts of this tradition were apparently followed - as Cracker Night - in Australia until sometime in the 1960s when it was realised that bonfires and flying ordinance were not a sensible strategy for the start of bushfire season.  So Cracker Night switched to a date in Winter.

Now, of course, fireworks are seen as a Bad Thing, and banned unless organised by a public body or a media outlet.  These are normally colourful and above all noisy: the image above comes from a media organised display on Lake Burley Griffin and we can hear the explosions of star shells at home, 23km away!

Equally colourful, but 100% quieter, are our Irises, shown below for your viewing pleasure.






As storms wereforecast a few days later Frances decided to relocate this one to a vase.
Moving a little away from Irises, but still attractive is this unusual Fuschia we acquired from a friend.
The sweet peas were purchased as seed and did nothing last year.  A great improvement in 2012.
Moving towards native flowers here we have a commercially bred Grevillea Hills Jubilee ...
and a Leptospermum (of which I have forgotten the species).
That has now aged a bit and looks very spectacular.

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