Jassy

We will be in London the first week of Nov. (4th-10th). The guidebooks mention Guy Fawkes Day, Nov. 5. I understand that there will be fireworks. Where will they be and what are the best places from which to view them? Also, will there be large crowds and much rowdiness? If so, all day or just in the evening, town-wide or limited to certain locales?

Also, - although they are much less clear about this - it appears from the guidebooks that Remembrance Day and/or the Lord Mayor's Show may be taking place the weekend we are in town (Nov. 8-9). Does each of these draw large crowds? Throughout London or just in particular location(s)? Will museums and other public sites, stores, etc., be open or closed?

Any help or advice you can provide to help me plan (to either participate or avoid) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Jackie

BrimhamRocks

Guy Fawkes, also known as Bonfire Night, is celebrated across the UK on 5 November. The date marks the failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament by Guy Fawkes, along with a group of co-conspirators in London in 1605.

Children make life-sized effigies of Guy Fawkes which are called Guys, to put onto the bonfires. The English have been burning effigies to mark Guy Fawkes' treason for almost 400 years.

In some ways Bonfire Night is related to the ancient festival of Samhain, the Celtic New Year. Although Samhain is now popularly thought of as being 31 October and related to Halloween, it is more accurately 6 November.

(the above info is from various websites)

Another event you may be interested in:

Olympia
Spirit of Christmas Fair
Starts on 06 Nov 2003 until 09 Nov 2003

With over 450 exhibitors offering the finest food, wine and gift ideas, this is an entertaining way to get into the festive mood, sample some delicious seasonal food for free, and perhaps get some gift ideas, all under one roof. Over 25,000 visitors are expected for this year. This fair will help sort out your Christmas and gives well-organised people the opportunity to get their shopping in early. If you get tired of shopping and eating you can try the ice rink or take a drink in one of the bars.

Olympia
Hammersmith Road
W14 8UX
Telephone: 020 7603 3344
Travel: Olympia Tube

ben_haines_london

You have a good answer on Bonfire Night, but I would add that nowadays few London children burn effigies. Also, the bigger, public, shows come from borough councils, and some may be held on 8 or 9 November. I think the issue of Time Out magazine for 5 November will give you a list. Any fireworks on the Thames give you a good view from the banks, and otherwise they are usually in public parks, again with wide views. The displays are in the evening, to get the full power of the fireworks. These are family events, and there are large crowds and no rowdiness at all.

The Lord Mayor's Show on 8 November has a web site at www.lordmayorsshow.org/. You want to stand in the right place at the right time, as the procession runs along particular streets in the City. The show draws large crowds, mostly families with children. I see that that evening there will be a Festival of Remembrance Armistice Day at the Royal Albert Hall. Detail will be on http://www.royalalberthall.com/rah/text_only/index.jsp. Then as you say, on the morning of 9 November there is the Remembrance Day parade and service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall. Attendance is large and crowded, so it is hard to see much. But you would be most welcome at any of the borough services that morning, held at each borough war memorial. In late October you could e-mail a borough near your hotel (but I think not Westminster) to find details of time (usually ten or ten thirty) and place.

Museums and other public sites, stores, etc., will be open as usual: this not a bank holiday.

The fair at Olympia sounds pretty dire, a kind of festival of Saint Sales Manager.

[email protected]

dga

We will also be in london the first week of November
I have a Guy Fawkes on my calendar for Saturday 1 November
The start of the London to Brighton antique car race Sunday morning 2 November. As I recall it starts early AM at Hyde Park. Perhaps Ben Haines or Brimham Rocks has more info re: exact time and place.
We have tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys for Monday 3 November. If you haven't obtained free tickets for this late evening event I suggest you do so as it is very worthwhile.

Jassy

Dear BrimhamRocks, Ben Haines and dga,

Thanks so much for your detailed information, history lesson, web sites and suggestions! It has all been very helpful.

It seems that there is never a dull moment in or around London!

Jackie

BrimhamRocks

Ben, up here in Yorkshire, it's still common to burn 'Guys' on the bonfire.

Jacqui

I actually couldn't find any good displays last year in the City/Central London on November 5th! As normal though, there was a very good fireworks display on the evening following the Lord Mayor's Show. I tend to view this from Blackfriars bridge.

janis

Jacqui: There wouldn't have been any on Nov 5 last year because that was a Tuesday. In modern times the fireworks displays/bonfires are usually on the closest Saturday - sometimes before and sometimes after "real" Guy Fawkes night.

Jassy: If you are in central London another option is to go somewhere up high -- the cocktail lounge at the top of the London Hilton (the one on Park Lane), or the London Eye - places like that. One time I met friends for drinks at the top of the Hilton completely forgetting it was Guy fawkes. Sitting up there looking out over the entire city we must have seen more than 30 different fireworks shows all around the horizon.

Jacqui

Janis - I've previously seen midweek displays at Hays Galleria on bonfire night, that was why I was surprised. Figured economic climate has as much to do with it as anything.

BrimhamRocks

Janis, I bet that was some sight, to see fireworks in every direction. Nice!

In northern England, where it's much more rural, on Bonfire Night it's spooky-cool to see bonfires burning every few miles apart, on the hills. Some of them are quite small, probably with a private family or group of friends all gathered around, but some of them are huge! Fireworks are a part of the celebrations as well, and if you get in the right spot on a hill, you can see fireworks scattered here and there, for miles and miles.

Many Americans from our base participate in local bonfires on that night, and have come back saying they had a wonderful time.

ben_haines_london

The site http://VictorianResearch.org has a list of free public lectures, and I attach those for your days. Other readers may like to look up the list for their dates in London, now and again just before they go, as the list grows weekly. These lectures rest your feet nicely, and exercise your mind instead.

Welcome to London

[email protected]


Tuesday 4 November. 5pm. Travel Writing and Early Modern Cosmopolitanism. Ecclesiastical History Room, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House. Russell Square tube

Tuesday 4 November. 5pm. Translation and consensus: some elementary notes on Jibanananda Dasshort fiction (1931-33). Room 329/330, Institute of English Studies, Third Floor, Senate House, Russell Square tube

Tuesday 4 November. 6pm. Who was Carmen? Gresham College, Barnards Inn, 23-23 Holborn, Chancery Lane tube

Wednesday 5 November. Hedge schools in Ireland. Room 349, Institute of English Studies, Third Floor, Senate House, Russell Square tube

Wednesday 5 November. 5pm tea. 5.30. ISO 19900 Series - International Standards for Offshore Structures. Institution of Civil Engineers, Westminster tube

Wednesday 5 November. 6pm. The multidisciplinary nature of creativity. Gresham College, Barnards Inn, 23-23 Holborn, Chancery Lane tube

Thursday 6 November. 1pm. Human and animal emotions: Are they the same? Gresham College, Barnards Inn, 23-23 Holborn, Chancery Lane tube

Thursday 6 November. 1.10. A Victorian Servant. National Portrait Gallery, Leicester Square tube

Thursday 6 November. 5.15. Friendship in John Lockes Political Imagination. Ecclesiastical History Room, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House. Russell Square tube

Thursday 6 November. 5.30. "We han ese dayys martyris al to manye in is lond": The language of suffering and martyrdom in late medieval England. Low Countries Room, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House. Russell Square tube

Thursday 6 November. 5.30. Special education and historical research: exploring new pathways. International Relations Room, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House. Russell Square tube

Thursday 6 November. 5.45. A slice of their lives: The Dictionary of National Biographys editors 1882-1999. St Andrews, Holborn Viaduct

Thursday 6 November. 7pm. Charles II, the making of the BBC2 drama. National Portrait Gallery, Leicester Square tube

Friday. 7 November. 5pm. Enlightenment and Romanticism. Room 265, Institute of English Studies, Third Floor, Senate House, Russell Square tube

Sunday 9 November. 3pm. The Loyal Servant in Portraiture: 1600 to 1830. The central motivation for servant portraiture. National Portrait Gallery, Leicester Square tube

Monday 10 November. 1pm. London: A nation not a city - The Square Mile. Gresham College, Barnards Inn, 23-23 Holborn, Chancery Lane tube

Monday 10 November. 5.30. London Shakespeare Seminar. Room 331, Institute of English Studies, Third Floor, Senate House, Russell Square tube

San366

Too cool! I'm not the original poster on this thread, but I'll be in London from 11/3 to 11/8, and the information here is invaluable. Ben, I'm even hoping to check out one or two of the lectures you mentioned.

janisj

San366: Those may have been great lectures - but they were back in <b>2003</b>.

obxgirl

San366, While the lectures in the above post are from 2003, here is a current list of letures from the same VirctoriaResearch.org. Looks like some great stuff, equally diverse in topics:

http://victorianresearch.org/lectures.html

Hope you find something you like.

San366

LOL. Oh my goodness, I really need to remember to check the dates on these posts!! Thanks for catching that for me, and thanks for the current link.

BTilke

Looks like Guy Fawkes will be a bust this year, in London anyway, with some serious rain in the forecast.
In addition to the info provided (all very good, thanks for the ideas), there is also the Country Living magazine christmas fair Nov. 9-13 near the Angel tube stop. www.countrylivingfair.com
I'll be going on the 9th, anyone else planning to go?
Also, is it windy today or what??!! Remnants of Wilma, I suppose, having pushed across the Atlantic. The spaniel loves it, all those delicious scents from the woods and fields mixing it up in the air.

david_west

All these posts and no one has mentioned that it’s my birthday on the 9th. Harrumph! (well it’s a big day for me).

There will be any number of firework shows on the 5th. A good one, and easy to get to, will be Hammersmith and Fulham’s at Ravenscourt Park (Ravenscourt park tube on the District Line). Details here: www.lbhf.gov.uk

You have to pay a few quid to get in (about &pound;4 I think).

If you say where you are staying we’ll be able to point you in the right direction for local displays.

You also mention Remembrance Sunday – which this year is 13th November. This isn’t really a spectator event. To be near the Cenotaph you have to be invited – ie a veteran. Everything else will be open. It’s not a public holiday (although many of us think it should be).

I realise the OP will have gone home here, but if any Americans are about on the afternoon of the 12th November; England are playing Argentina. You should seek out a pub and you will see a side to the English you may not have suspected was there (as well as seeing what full-on sporting rivalry is all about). Not for the faint-hearted!

julia_t

David...

I just KNEW you had to be a Scorpio!!!

...Julia