I love fireworks. And in Australia you only ever really see big displays at New Year. When I was a kid, we used to have “Cracker Night” for the Queen’s Birthday weekend, the first weekend in June. The general public in Australia, well, in particular New South Wales (some laws alter from state to state), could buy fireworks at that time without a licence. There would be many local displays. I’m not saying I agreed with that. I didn’t really. There was a lot of danger involved. But when licensing came in, fireworks displays for the Queen’s birthday slowly petered out and only the main fireworks display on New Year’s Eve in Sydney remained.
So, when I moved to the UK, I felt like I hit the jackpot! Not only is Halloween a bigger celebration in the UK (it was never very popular in Australia when I was growing up – which made me dispair, being a Halloween baby), but with Guy Fawkes night being celebrated shortly after, chances were always strong for me to get a Halloween/fireworks double whammy!
This happened one year, a few short years after I moved over, at a local children’s amusement park called Gulliver’s Land. They were having a special Halloween/Guy Fawkes double celebration.
WORST. BIRTHDAY. EVER!
It was FREEZING that year. It was sssooo cold. We got to the park CRAZY early. I think it was also half-term for the schools, so there were kids EVERYWHERE! I KNOW! Strange for a children’s amusement park. Lol. So, it was cold, the park was TINY and VERY child-centered. Not like an Alton Towers or the like…something where maybe adults can have some fun too. No! We waited about 2-3 hours for the fireworks…and then they were shite.
So, yeah. Freezing my tits off, surrounded by kids, waiting hours for fireworks that weren’t even all that. Crap!!