Making my way through Asia (and grad school) one adventurous step at a time.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Adventures in Gunpowder Plots...

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The gunpowder treason and plot
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

On November 5th, 1605, the plans of Guye Fawkes and his fellow conspirators to blow up the British parliament were thwarted. (Although the gunpowder was stored in barrels under parliament, by the looks of
the gigantic pylon on his head, a great deal of gunpowder could have been stashed away beneath Fawkes' hat.) To this day, November 5th is marked by bonfires, fireworks and burning effigies of Guye "Guido" Fawkes. What an odd holiday. I'm not sure what perplexes me more: the holiday itself, or where on earth I learned that poem, and why do I still remember it!?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suspect you've known it since long before the rest of us who learned it from /V for Vendetta. Perhaps in the same class in which you added "Hitler, he only had one ball," to your knowledge base.

Anonymous said...

I read it and assumed Upper Canada Village. Can you still recite the one for the Temperance League?

Anonymous said...

I thought you were being all funny and original with the "Do you remember that kind of September" song... Anyhow. Now I have the Hitler song stuck in my head.

Mike Peacock said...

Speaking of explosions, did you know that the inventor of dynamite was Alfred Nobel, creator of The Nobel Peace Prize? We learned that in church on Sunday.

Janice said...

Maybe it was an Upper Canada Village thing, since I seem to remember every poem I learned there.

As for the Hitler song, I learned that one in Jay's basement.

Anonymous said...

I loved V for Vendetta!

Interestingly the next US presidential election will be on Nov. 5th 2008, I wonder if that will be a day that will never be forgot.

I'll be constantly replaying the scene in Independence day where the white house gets destroyed.

Janice if you haven't seen V for Vendetta yet, I'd like to highly recommend it.

Anonymous said...

Actually I thought it was an Upper Canada Village thing. Some one has said that we celebrate Guy Fawkes day to remind us that it might not have been such a bad idea at the time.
Dad