Be in the England for Guy Fawkes Day

“Because it gets dark so early in the fall here, after the time change especially, the fireworks were let off at 7:15 at the party we attended. So enjoyable to let the kids participate in the highlight of the evening, without keeping them up hours after their typical bedtime. The comraderie of the fire. I loved that everyone was basically forced to gather around the fire to keep warm. I had several really nice conversations that evening with total strangers. Had the cool night air not forced us to stand so close, perhaps I would have missed out on those interactions. Warm beverages like mulled wine, hot chocolate and tea, along with sausages straight off the grill. You can’t just warm up from the outside via the fire. You’ve got to warm yourself from the inside by indulging in these treats, too. Or at least that’s what I told myself.”

“The first Bonfire Night I attended was organised by my primary school. If truth be told, it was a bit of a dull affair comprised of a tepid bonfire and a smattering of meagerly adorned food stalls, but at one point a stray firework whizzed between the legs of my cousin Raza and our night was made. There was nothing about it I didn’t love, but mostly the sense that all the disparate parts of myself were able to come together and be seen.”