It's That Night Again

These are the only fireworks that Mike and I will be letting off today.

Around here it has ceased to be a night of simple fun and pleasure.  We have them not only going off for weeks before and after Bonfire Night - no, now they are available all year round they are used for Birthdays, Anniversaries, B-B-Q's, Christmas and New Year -  in fact any old excuse will do.

Now, I am not a killjoy or a spoilsport.  I grew up with fireworks, we had them ourselves when Becky was little. They used to be just pretty but now it seems we have to have explosions that almost rock the houses.  The bigger the bang, the better it would seem.  Not only our dogs and cats but countless others terrorised for nights on end.

They recently brought in an anti-social behaviour law, on the spot fines of £80. for anyone letting off fireworks in the street or very late at night.  Fine in principal but totally unworkable.  Only last night on the television we saw police patrols going around the streets trying to tackle this problem.  Whilst talking to a group of youths, fireworks were being let off all around them.  The simple fact is, they hear the bang or the bang is reported but, of course, by the time they get there the people responsible have long gone and only empty firework casings remain. One group of boys interviewed said yes, they were worried about the fine - but they would still do it anyway.  It has got totally out of hand.

There is, in my opinion, only one way to stop it and that is ban the sale of fireworks to ordinary members of the public.  They should only be available to local Councils for properly organised displays or to other large responsible organisations.  Every year our accident and emergency departments are swamped with injuries. Some shops ignore the "only selling to over sixteens" law and sell them to very young children. Yesterday, in the newspaper was the appalling picture of a dog with half its face blown away because some yobs thought it "fun" to tie a firework to its head and ignite it.  The dog is being nursed back to health and , hopefully, will make a full recovery.  Many animals each year are targeted in this way.  Teenage boys think it is fun to push a lighted firework through someones letterbox or in someones dustbin.  Old folks are scared stiff.  It is time it was stopped.

Well, I had better get off my soapbox.  To those of you having fireworks tonight then have a safe and happy time. However, I still think it would be better if they were not available to the public.

On a lighter note, Mike and I spent all of last evening setting up a new aquarium.  We had one already but it was a globe type and far too small.  The light was also inadequate to view the colour of our few tropical fish.  It takes some time to set up a tank . I had the delightful job of washing all the gravel (why can't they sell it pre-washed or is that too much to ask?).  So with all the lifting, bending and stretching we are both pretty stiff . It will look a bit better when it has settled and in a few days I hope to take a photo to post on this journal.