Guy Fawkes' night celebrated with a bonfire, fireworks and m...
Track Information
Original Track ID
SA1976.211.A2
Original Tape ID
Summary
Guy Fawkes' night celebrated with a bonfire, fireworks and music.
When Duncan Williamson was young, the children in Furnace collected wood and old boxes for about ten days before Guy Fawkes' night, and built a big bonfire in the centre of the village. Fireworks could be bought by children then and were cheap. All the village gathered at the bonfire and brought fireworks with them. People brought musical instruments, a mouth organ, Jew's harp, accordion or fiddle, and there would be singing and dancing, sometimes until midnight. A guy stuffed with straw was put on the top of the fire and when it fell down into the flames a cheer went up.
Travellers celebrated Guy Fawkes' night with bonfires too. Duncan recalls one wet season in Crieff when it was Guy Fawkes night by the time they finished the potato harvest. There were several Traveller families there and they had a huge bonfire, fifteen or twenty feet high. Travellers still have bonfires on Guy Fawkes' night, but the celebrations are usually on a smaller scale than they used to be.
Recording Location
County - Fife
Parish - Cupar
Village/Place - Cupar
Item Location
County - Argyllshire
Parish - Inveraray
Village/Place - Furnace
Language
Scots
Genre
Collection
Source Type
Reel to reel
Audio Quality
Good