Boy, you're gunna carry that weight a long time

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day.
Here's a mini-lesson for you on british history.
Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, leaving no heir to the thrown. James VI of Scotland is placed in the thrown, making him James I of England, and making Scotland and England Great Britian for the first time. With Elizabeth's death the Roman Catholic Church fell from government, as James was a Protestant. This made a lot of Roman Catholics unhappy.
In 1605, Guy Fawkes made a plan to blow up Parliament and James I - the Gunpowder Plot.
Fawkes was a Roman Catholic, and did not like James I (and his Protestantism) very much. Solution - blow them all up.
Parliament had been postponed until November 5th, so Guy (and other conspirators - there were 13 total) went into action.
Depending on your point of view, fortunately or unfortunately, an anonymous letter was written warning James I, and Guy Fawkes was captured - under Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder. He confessed, and was executed.

So what do the British do?
Celebrate!
Children make paper Guy Fawkes and run around asking "a penny for the man" and you would give them a pence or two so they can burn him. Unfortunately, I did not encounter any of these kids. I would have given them money. I think it's great.

Then everyone starts blowing things up. The fireworks started a bit over a week ago, but last night you would have thought we were in the Blitz. Feeling sick, I decided not to go watch the fireworks with some of the other students, but try to regain health with Katie and Maria. Jeff was taking a nap... that is, until the fireworks started.
Jeff wanted to go for a walk to find some, and I was feeling a bit better, so I agreed. We ended up walking most of Islington (which is quite large), seeing some nice fireworks. But the best part was when we found our own. There were fireworks stores all over the place. Sweet.
We didn't have a lot of money, so we only got a small pack with nothing bigger than a Roman candle. We returned to the FMC to collect Katie and Maria, and then walked up to Highbury Fields to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day the British way.





Jeff and I with our treasure.


That's the shirt Elsie got me!


above: Roman Candle. Mmmm.
left: Maria and I dancing. Pictures were hard to take in the dark, but you get the idea.














In a random side note, if you should see the Kate Winslet commercial (I think it's for Master Card) where she is walking around the market saying things like "at age --- I nearly drowned" - you know the one - that was filmed in Camden Market. That is the place we go for our cheap skirts, cheap scarves, and cheap food. The bridge that says "Camden Locks" we've walked under a dozen times, and the building it is attached to is one where I took Sam's picture (check out his blog to see it). It's just really neat to be watching a movie or tv and realize you've been by that place, or you shop there regularly.