Archive for the ‘Entertainment’ Category

In 2008, when Barack Obama was elected President, an American friend commented to me that he’d seen fireworks on a news feed from Britain and was surprised that we Brits took the US Election so seriously.  

Well the tradition fireworks in the UK in early November date back much farther than the election of Obama!

‘Guy Fawkes Night’ or ‘Firework Night’ is celebrated on November 5th in the United Kingdom and some countries of the Commonwealth. It commemorates the unsuccessful ‘Gunpowder Plot’ of 1605 when a group of wealthy Catholics attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the state opening by  King James I. (He was King James VI of Scotland and became King James 1 of England following the death of Queen Elizabeth 1 – who died childless.)

The Catholic plotters had hoped for greater tolerance of Catholicism under James 1st, but were disappointed and decided to assassinate both the King and much of the Protestant aristocracy, and use the destruction of Parliament as an opportunity to start a rebellion and found a Catholic State in England under James’ daughter Princess Elizabeth..

The acknowledged leader of the plot was Robert Catesby, with other plotters including Thomas Winter, Christopher Wright, Robert Keyes, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Ambrose Rokewood, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham and Catesby’s servant Thomas Bates . The plot is remembered, however, for the explosives expert the plotters employed – one Guido Fawkes, who had gained his experience with explosives by fighting for the Spanish against the Dutch in the Spanish Netherlands.

The plot took place over several years, with delays to the opening of Parliament allowing for revisions to the plot; originally the plotters planned to tunnel under the Houses of Parliament from a nearby house, but when Thomas Percy leased a vault (or undercroft) under the palace in early 1605 they used this to store the explosives.

Some 36 barrels of explosive had been stored by the end of May 1605, and the conspirators moved far from London to the Midlands, from where they planned to start the rebellion. The conspiracy had grown, in part because the plotters needed further investment to fund the proposed rebellion, and it is thought that one of the newcomers warned the King and Parliament. Guido (or Guy) Fawkes was caught leaving the explosive filled undercroft and promptly arrested. He was taken to the Tower of London and confessed the names of the other plotters under torture.

Several rhymes exist commemorating the plot – the most common being :

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

the rhyme continues :

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t’was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli’ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England’s overthrow;
By God’s mercy he was catched
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holla boys, holla boys, let the bells ring.
Holla boys, holla boys, God save the King!

When I was a child (not so very long ago) children would make effigies of Guy Fawkes and stand on the streets collecting money for fireworks with the cry “Penny for the Guy” but this has almost died out, not least because recent legislation prevents children from buying fireworks.

These days most people attend public firework displays, featuring a large bonfire, often with a ‘guy’ on the top. Refreshments often served include treacle toffee (known as bonfire toffee), jacket potatoes and gingerbread (also known as ‘parkin’).

The plot is referenced in the graphic novel (and subsequent movie) ‘V for Vendetta’ where the main protagonist wears a Guy Fawkes mask, and succeeds in blowing Parliament up.

Blackpool is a seaside holiday resort in the northwest of England, about 30 miles north of Liverpool and about 45 miles north west of Manchester.

As such it is one of Britain’s best known sea-side resorts, having become immensely popular in Victorian times when the cotton mills of Lancashire would close for a week each summer and the mill workers would take the new railways to the coast.  Rather than swamp the resorts, each mill would close for a different week allowing a steady flow of holidaymakers through the summer.

The heart of Blackpool is a stretch of promenade known as the ‘Golden Mile’. This stretches from a large funfair known as ‘the Pleasure Beach’ in the south, past three leisure piers (Blackpool is the only British resort with three) before ending at the northern end at ‘Blackpool Tower’.

 The promenade is served by electric trams which are brightly and spectacularly illuminated each autumn.

Blackpool Tower

Blackpool Tower was constructed in 1894 after the then Mayor of Blackpool returned, inspired by the Eiffel Tower, from the  Paris Exhibition in 1889 .

Blackpool’s tower rises to a height of nearly 520 feet, around two thirds the height of the Eiffel Tower. Nevertheless it can be seen for a radius of about thirty miles.

At the base of the tower is an extensive leisure complex – the ‘Winter Gardens’ that include an opera house and ballroom – which in turn is home to a massive Wurlitzer organ.

Blackpool Lights

Blackpool is famous for its electric illuminations which were introduced in 1879 and actually predate Edison’s patent of the light-bulb.  

The lights comprise over a million bulbs and extend for some six miles, accompanied by the illuminated trams. They are illuminated each evening for sixty six days from early September until November, thus extending the resort’s ’season’ beyond that of most seaside resorts.

Like the Christmas lights in London’s West End the ‘turning on of the lights’ has been performed each year since 1934 with considerable fanfare by a topical celebrity.

Blackpool is increasingly turning to renewable energy to power the illuminations and there are plans for the display to be carbon neutral by 2010.

Pantomime, not to be confused with mime, is as British as things get.

It can trace its roots back to the Commedia dell’arte (Harlequin, Punchinello, Scaramouch and all that) but has been modified since its introduction in the 18th century into an unique theatrical form.

Basically, you take a traditional fairy tale or popular story and weave a series of risqué jokes, bad puns and songs around the basic story.

Popular Pantomimes include :

• Aladdin
• Babes in the Wood (which bizarrely often features Robin Hood)
• Beauty and the Beast
• Cinderella
• Dick Whittington and His Cat
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• Jack and the Beanstalk
• Mother Goose
• Peter Pan
• Puss in Boots
• Robinson Crusoe
• Sleeping Beauty
• Snow White

There are a series of quite strict ‘rules’ that define a pantomime, these conventions are pretty impenetrable when explained in writing, but most Brits understand them implicitly:

• Pantomime is performed at Christmas time, but the festive season is not mentioned, it just happens that way.
• The lead character (Robinson Crusoe, Aladdin, Jack (with the beanstalk)) is known as the ‘principal boy’ and is played by an attractive actress.
  
• The principal boy’s older mother/guardian is known as ‘the dame’ and is played by an actor in grotesque make up. In the case of Cinderella there are two ‘dames’ – the ‘ugly sisters’.
  
• The principal boy often has an attendant animal, such as a horse or cow, played by two actors with one playing the front legs and head or the animal, with the other actor doubled over playing the back legs.



• There’s often a good fairy, who by tradition always enters from the right of the stage, the villain always enters from the left.
• There’s usually a very messy slapstick scene, possibly the Dame having to bake a wedding cake or similar that causes a great deal of mess.
• There is considerable interaction between the audience and the cast. For example the  principal boy is usually unaware of the arrival of the villain and is alerted by the audience with cries of “He’s behind you!” this is often answered with “oh no he isn’t” and responding cries of “oh yes he is”… and so on
• Towards the end of the show a few children are often invited to sing a song with the Dame, either a traditional music hall song, or a popular song with modified lyrics.
• Everybody lives happily ever after – except the villain, unless he’s seen the error of his ways.

It’s not as complex as it seems, honest!

Most regional theatres host pantomimes, as do a number of theatres on the outskirts of London, it’s often the first (or only) encounter many children have with the theatre..

Pantomime is an important source of revenue for struggling theatres and they often feature fading pop stars, TV soap stars and so on to entice audiences.

In recent years a number of American actors have been enticed over to Britain to perform,  including Henry Winkler who performs a mean Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

Henry Winkler as Captain Hook

The Proms, or to give them their full name ‘The Promenade Concerts’ are a season of classical music concerts that take place each summer from mid-July to mid-September at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, west London.

The first ‘prom’ was held in August 1895 under the auspices of the theatrical empressario Robert Newman with the intention of popularising classical music for the masses. He engaged the conductor Henry Wood and it is Wood’s name that is most associated with the proms.

The BBC became involved in 1926 and the proms are now known as the ‘BBC Proms’.

The origin of the word ‘Promenade’ is the practice that continues to this day of reserving a thousand tickets for sale on the day of the performance to ‘promenaders’ (or ‘prommers’). These tickets, as the name suggests, are standing only and are very popular.

In the 2009 season the concert run exceeds one hundred performances for the first time, and alongside more traditional classical composers the music of Bollywood movies and MGM Musicals will be featured. The 2008 proms included a special Doctor Who concert that included appearances by characters from the BBC TV Series.

By far the best known and most popular of the proms is the last night. ‘The Last Night of the Proms’ is a patriotic celebration that culminates with much waving of union flags and raucous singing of ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Rule Britannia’ and ‘Land of Hope and Glory’.

 The performances are so popular that the BBC holds open air concerts around the country with video links back to the Albert Hall for the climax of the concert.

The South Bank of the Thames has a distinct character, much like the ‘left bank’ of the River Seine in Paris. although in recent years ‘the South Bank’ has grown somewhat.

Traditionally the South Bank described the area south of the River Thames between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges, it was the site of the ‘Festival of Britain’ on reclaimed marshland in 1951, Britain’s post-war celebration. 

Of that festival, now only the Royal Festival Hall remains (it’s a prestigious concert venue). The site now additionally houses the National Theatre and the National Film Theatre.

Despite its lofty intentions, it’s not terribly popular, the ‘brutalist’ concrete slab architecture is uninviting and the subways towards Waterloo station are a haven for vagrants and feel unsafe after dark.

In recent years, however,  the regeneration of the land’ south of the river’ and the opening of a riverside walk has meant that effectively the ‘South Bank’ now stretches from Tower Bridge to Westminster.

This means the ‘South Bank’ now encompasses the Design Museum (slightly east of Tower Bridge), Hays Galleria (between Tower Bridge and London Bridge), Borough Market (south of Southwark Cathedral), the recreation of Shakespeare’s ‘Globe’ Theatre, the Tate Modern art gallery, and the London Eye (adjacent to Westminster Bridge).