November 5 has been a magical night for young and the not so young for many years - and is anticipated with a great deal of glee. But there is no getting away from the fact that fireworks and bonfires can be dangerous so when planning a community occasion, or a private party, a little forethought and care needs to be taken.
Here are some tips on how to have a good evening with your neighbours and friends without getting hurt or causing a great nuisance to other people nearby who don’t want to join in.
Be a good neighbour
Warn elderly neighbours or those with very young children that a bonfire party is going to be held and give them dates and times.
Ensure that people with pets are told and that everyone knows their pets need to be kept indoors away from the flames and the noise.
Avoid the really noisy fireworks – and choose an open space to let them off so that the noise doesn’t bounce off buildings, and there is less chance of pollution building up.
High winds will cause problems as sparks are carried away so be prepared to change the night if the weather forecast doesn’t look good.
Choosing the site
Look for an open space and one that will give watchers room to do just that - watch. You need an area upwind from the display that is far enough away that people can stand safely – there should be instructions on the fireworks to help you gauge this.
The bonfire should stand in its own clear space at least 15 metres from the firework display and surrounding obstacles such as buildings, trees and fences. You just need to think abut what could go wrong and then make plans to ensure people can enjoy the evening safely.
As with many things today there are guidelines you need to adhere to – they are laid out in two publications Health and Safety Guidance HSG 123 – Working together on firework displays and HSG 124 - Giving your own firework display. This may all sound a bit heavy, but the leaflets give lots of good commonsense advice such as ‘read the instructions on your fireworks in advance so you know what to do’ and ‘have a torch so you can safely read the instructions on a firework’.
A visit to the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk/explosives/fireworks gives access to the leaflets. We also have more information here.
But mostly you need to use some commonsense.
It does make sense to have a bucket of water handy if a problem does occur, or even to pop sparklers into once they have been used.
It also makes sense if just one person is in charge of lighting the bonfire, rather than several people all putting matches to different parts of the structure.
One person should also be in charge of letting the fireworks off – and they should only be lit in the designated area.
Keep fireworks in a closed box, don’t go back to a firework that hasn’t gone off and don’t put fireworks in your pocket.
It also doesn’t take many minutes just to check that no hedgehogs or small pets have taken up residence in the bonfire and encourage them out, before it is lit.
The idea of this article is to help you have a good time, not to put you off, and as we have said repeatedly it is all about using as little forethought and commonsense.
But most of all it is about having fun with your friends and neighbours. So how about all contributing some snacks - after all sausages are bangers as well. How about a competition for the most aptly named dish?
And why not try our recipe!
Parkin
Make this a few days before it is needed. Stored in an air-tight tin it is a cake that actually gets better when not eaten straight away.
Ingredients:
12oz (350g) oatmeal
4oz (125g) flour
4oz (125g) margarine
4oz (125g) honey
4oz (125g) black treacle
1tsp ground ginger
4 tablespoons milk
half a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Instructions:
Grease an 11 x 7 inch (28 x 18cm) cake tin
Preheat oven to 325F, 160C, Gas Mark 3
Mix together flour, oats and ginger in a bowl
Gentle melt together the margarine, treacle and honey in a saucepan, or in the microwave
Heat the milk gently to lukewarm then add the bicarbonate of soda
Stir the milk and the melted margarine mix into the oatmeal and flour, making sure they all blend well
Put mix into the cake tin
Bake in centre of oven for 90 minutes
Cool in the tin for 15 to 20 minutes then turn out onto a wire cake tray to completely cool, before being cut into squares