Communities rise again through ashes of Bonfire Night trouble

It looked like the same number of cops that were deployed during Trump’s visit or the Queen’s lying in state. I thought I must have forgotten that we were due a state visit from someone very unpopular, when it suddenly struck me this was for Bonfire Night. That’s how out of hand events have become on November 5.

Image issued by Police Scotland of fireworks being let off near police officers in Sighthill Park, Edinburgh on Wednesday night. Fireworks were thrown at emergency services vehicles and one person was injured after a firework hit a car on November 5, however police said there was a "notable" reduction in Bonfire Night disorder overall

As it happened, Bonfire Night seems to have passed without too much trouble in Edinburgh on Wednesday night, which was was good to see. Round our way, I heard very few loud bangs and very few rockets lighting up the sky. It was almost eerily quiet. The most noise I could hear was from the police helicopter hovering overhead. Even our cat stayed outside for most of the evening.

There was certainly no repetition of the appallingly violent scenes of the past two years where local youths and riot police were involved in a number of pitched battles throughout the city. The no fireworks zones seemed to have worked, and the police presence was undoubtedly high. It appears the comparative calm was due to the combined efforts and joined-up thinking of the police, the council, the schools and community workers and individuals in the areas where violence had previously erupted. This is what can be achieved when communities work together.

Violence on Bonfire Night is a comparatively recent phenomenon, it’s only in the past decade or so that disaffected youth have been buying small explosives in their supermarket and chucking them at the emergency services. When I was a disaffected youth, we spent all our money on cigarettes and alcohol, we’d never have dreamed of wasting it on bangers.

When I was a boy, Guy Fawkes Night was a very low-key affair. We’d wheel a stuffed dummy around the neighbourhood for a few days, begging “Penny for the Guy”. In those days, our parents and neighbours would bring their fireworks to our local park where they’d build a bonfire and bake potatoes in the ashes. They’d balance rockets in milk bottles before lighting them. The only vague hint of danger was when a Catherine wheel fell of its nail and went off haywire or when one of the milk bottles fell over and a rocket took off sideways. Not even the most psycho kids threw bricks at fire engines.

However, the person who had the most unique Guy Fawkes Night was a friend of mine in Newcastle. The trouble was he had to die first. My old mate Dave, who was born on November 5, passed away in September. His final wish was for his ashes to be sent into the sky in a rocket, outside his local pub on the banks of the Tyne.

On the train back from Aberdeen last Sunday afternoon, we passed through Burntisland. On the Links, a huge bonfire had already been built and marquees and fairground rides set up for that evening’s annual fireworks display, which is run by local volunteers. These kind of events used to be commonplace throughout the country. Yet another example of what can be achieved when communities work together.