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Guy Fawkes' night celebrated with a bonfire, fireworks and m...

Date 31 October 1976
Track ID 32571
Part 1

Track Information

Original Track ID

SA1976.211.A2

Original Tape ID

SA1976.211

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

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good