Okay so there really isn?t a Guy Fawkes ? Day 2 however I didn?t get to see a bonfire yesterday so today I dragged Andrew to Battersea Park to check out the bonfire and fireworks display there. It was a pain to get into the park but it was worth it.

Firstly the bonfire. We got to the park early this time to find a huge pile of what looked like loading crates sitting in the middle of a field just asking to be lit. Of course some fool tried to throw their sparkler in to try and set it off but the fireman was right on top of it and managed to get it out of the stack of crates before any premature lighting of the bonfire occurred. Finally, at the appointed time, a countdown started in the crowd and seconds later the bonfire had begun. At first the flames were tame but after about 5 minutes of burning the flames had reached their peak and the heat became unbearable. So much for an exciting bonfire ? it was cool to see the flames but I was disappointed they didn?t throw ?Guy? on to it. We took the opportunity to head over to get a good position for the fireworks.

We ended up about 2 metres back from the barriers so closer than we were at Clapham. After some bizarre 20 minute performance by a group of people from Cirque du Soleil involving a crane, angels, kites and a lot of interpretive work (I still can?t work out what they were doing) the best fireworks I?ve seen lit up the sky. It was even better than Clapham?s fireworks ? though I wonder if that had more to do with the fact there were no trees (or obnoxious men) to ruin the experience or if it was the fact it was set to music and lights. The music really added to the atmosphere and was synchronized exactly to the exploding fireworks. Unfortunately my photos don?t really capture how brilliant the show was ? my video footage was a bit better. If you?re in town for the show you do not want to miss it ? just follow the oohs and aahs.

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