Saturday, November 08, 2008
Guy Fawkes Night 2008, Edinburgh
It was rainy, gloomy, and foggy as hell. About 5 degrees celcius, maybe even less. Not the most auspicious weather for fireworks. And yet hundreds of people thronged up Calton Hill overlooking the city, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fire and sparkle. As if you could see anything pass a distance of 1 metre in the fog anyway...
Unfortunately, in a fit of insanity, I had said yes to being one of those people. So, at 6:30pm, wrapped up in layers and layers of sweaters, jackets, beanies, scarves and gloves, uphill we went. It was hard to walk, not the least because the ground was slippery and muddy from the rain, and we literally could. not. see. anything. more than an arm's length away.
Replica of the infamous alien-abduction scene from err, some infamous movie.After much effort, we finally made it to the top of the hill, which appeared to be completely enveloped in mist. All I could make out was random shadows and shapes moving eerily through the fog, and occassional laughter and calls which I assumed to be from fellow fireworks-hunters like me.
Scene from purgatory or zombie-land?Luckily for me, I went with Danielle, who seemed to have a nose for sniffing out fireworks. We walked around following the sound of the boom bang and cackle, and were treated to quite a feast from where we eventually ended up. Not the most spectacular fireworks I've seen in my life, but gorgeous enough especially against the backdrop of fog and mist.
Couple gazing at the fireworks. Aww, how romantic...We could tell that it was coming from somewhere in front of us, as we could see people standing there cheering and clapping. However, as we attempted to get a closer view, we literally ran into a wall (well, at least I did because I didn't see the wall until I nearly walked into it). Attempting to climb the wall in this weather was out of the question, so I suggested we walk around it.
People. And wall.Would it surprise you to know that the wall had no end? Or at least that was the way it seemed. Finally, we hunted down a local Scot - a harried-looking mum with 2 mischievous little boys - and she told us the fireworks we'd just seen was actually from a private garden, and the 'real deal' was back at the top of the hill (from which we'd just walked down).
By this time we were both pretty bummed, and toyed with the idea of turning back and going home. However, Danielle remembered she had a flask of hot tea with her, and I happened to have a pack of biscuits (don't ask), and so we happily climbed up the hill in search of Kathy and her friends, whom we have lost sight of a while ago. However, as we could hardly make out anything, we gave up looking for her and decided to have our little picnic party in the rain by ourselves.
Danielle and her nutella sandwich and flask of Lady Grey tea.You go girl, this is the life!
Finally, we tracked down Kathy, Richard and a couple others (actually, Richard scared the BEJEEZUS out of me by popping up from behind me suddenly in the fog... definitely most terrifying moment of the year). Apparently Danielle and I had been lucky to even have seen anything at all. Aside from several people waving their sparklers around, no one at the top had caught any fireworks action. Nevertheless, everyone continued to cheer and clap loudly at each whistle, boom and bang.
Kathy: "Wow, this is the most exciting fireworks I've ever heard."
Danielle: "Yep, that's the Brits for you. Half-blind and soaking wet but still having a good time."
Me: "Yea I know, it's the most exciting non-event ever!"
The general fogginess that is Calton Hill.
But we were treated to some nice sparkler parties.
So after 2 hours of general mayhem and confused befuddlement, we decided we needed a drink, and the following scene ensued:
Danielle: "Shu, where do you live? We can drop you home."
Me: "What? I'm not invited?"
Danielle: "Oh, how old are you?"
Me: "..."
Wow, this is the first time I've been mistaken for being younger than I actually am! (usually it's the other way round). But hey, I'm not complaining :)
Kathy: "Wow, this is the most exciting fireworks I've ever heard."
Danielle: "Yep, that's the Brits for you. Half-blind and soaking wet but still having a good time."
Me: "Yea I know, it's the most exciting non-event ever!"
The general fogginess that is Calton Hill.
But we were treated to some nice sparkler parties.So after 2 hours of general mayhem and confused befuddlement, we decided we needed a drink, and the following scene ensued:
Danielle: "Shu, where do you live? We can drop you home."
Me: "What? I'm not invited?"
Danielle: "Oh, how old are you?"
Me: "..."
Wow, this is the first time I've been mistaken for being younger than I actually am! (usually it's the other way round). But hey, I'm not complaining :)