People from far and wide flocked to a Busby-area farm on Saturday, Nov. 5 to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night, an annual event that recognizes Britain’s Gunpowder Plot of 1605.
Although the day is celebrated largely in Britain, local resident Edward Goodliffe has been celebrating in the Busby area for more than two decades.
“It’s a celebration that happens every year in Britain. The country goes wild and having come from Britain, I’ve kept the tradition alive here,” he said.
The celebration consisted of lighting torches, having a bonfire to burn Fawkes in effigy, setting off fireworks and eating a home-cooked meal.
“It’s a wonderful event,” Goodliffe said. “If you’re between the ages of two and 90, it’s suitable.”
This year marked the 406th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, which is a historical event for Britain which pinned the Catholics and Protestants against one another.
“Back in 1605, a bunch of Catholics were very upset with the Protestant administration in London and they set up a conspiracy to blow up the House of Lords during the opening of Parliament,” he said.
The conspirators put 20 barrels of gunpowder in the basement under the House of Lords, where the King was delivering a speech, Goodliffe said.
“So that they didn’t get their hands dirty, the conspirators hired a mercenary from Holland by the name of Guy Fawkes and his job was to set fire to the explosive when the King started his speech and, unfortunately for them, someone told what was going to happen and the authorities caught Guy and he was done for treason,” he said.
This year’s celebration saw roughly 120 participants. In past years, there have been between 80 and 180 people in attendance, depending on weather.
“It tends to be lots of political people. We’ve had lots of members of Parliament and MLAs and lots of people who tried to get elected to various things,” he said. “A lot of political people come and then of course a lot of friends and neighbours come.”
Goodliffe said that people have come from as far as Belgium in past years and there were even guests from Mississippi this year.
