Fireworks

To celebrate Bonfire Night I took my kids – plus a few others - to two public fireworks displays this year.

On Thursday we went along – for the first time – to a display in Isleworth at Thornbury Playing Fields in Isleworth. The poster said that it was “the only public display in the London Borough of Hounslow” which suggested that it had some formal backing. There was a kid’s display at 7pm and a main display at 8pm. As a result of work commitments it wasn’t possible to get to the earlier display so we arrived with 30 minutes to spare for the later one. We were all excited – after all, it was actually Guy Fawkes night. Our suspicions were aroused when we were required to pay our £4 a head entrance fee at a Funfair ticket box. It soon became apparent why the long delay between the two displays – a travelling funfair wanted to make the most of its captured audience. We allowed the kids a quick ride on the Caterpillar Rollercoaster and made our way over to the display field. It was cold. And rainy. I watched in startled belief as a couple of guys from a white van set off the main display manually. OK, it wasn’t awful but it did leave a lot to be desired. My small folk weren’t terribly impressed and I gathered, from the surrounding crowd, that others were equally disappointed. The highlight of our evening was watching all the firemen on the raised balcony above Isleworth Fire Station enjoy their cuppas from a safe distance – obviously not as frantic as you would expect on what used to be their busiest night of the year.

But Saturday we had greater success. We went along to join almost 10,000 other people at Kempton Park Race Course for the fireworks display organised annually by the Roundtable. The parking was easy and plentiful and there were stewards everywhere. It was more expensive – tickets were £8 each with under 5s going free but the course grounds were much more spacious. There were plenty of food and drink stalls (although the queues were rather long) and proper inside lavatories. There was a fun fair here too – much more professional and loads more rides - and it was packed. So busy in fact that the promised ride on the Wurlitzer was missed due to the queues. But the older kids did manage some rides (£2.50 a go) on suitably whizzy, white knuckle rides while there was a good assortment of rides suitable for younger children. In addition there were football goal kicking, archery and win-a-goldfish side shows. The music was loud.

Radio Jackie provided music and entertainment near the large spectator area and whilst some of the singing efforts from the audience members left a little to be desired, it was generally familiar music that you could sing and dance along with to keep out the cold. The Mayor of Spelthorne made an effort to say a few words – alongside a James Bond impressionist with his car. Health and safety meant that the 745pm start was delayed until almost 815pm which was tough on those trying to keep already fractious kids amused. Anyway, finally the display started and it was fantastic. A fully automated display with fantastic fireworks fully synchronised to an assortment of the best James Bond theme tunes – and the colours and patterns and timing really did appear to follow the music. Magic! There were even the required but genuine in this case “ooohs” and “aaaahhhs” from the crowd. Whilst one or two of the older teens in our group felt that there weren’t enough bangs, this was good news for the smaller folk who prefer colour and light rather than lots of noise. Getting out of the car park was a bit of a challenge, but overall everyone was delighted with the evening.

So. “Well done” to the Roundtable at Kempton and “Please try harder” to those in Isleworth.

:applause: