playing with fire(works)

From the BBC

Police have warned of the dangers of fireworks after a group of youngsters were filmed using a firework to shoot balls of flame at each other. The children lit Roman candles and used them to shoot the flames near a sports centre in Park Road, Dingle. In the footage, filmed on a mobile phone, a fireball hit one of the children in the back. Merseyside Police have urged anyone who spots youths misusing fireworks around the city to contact them.

Back when I was at college, and you could still buy mini rockets, we held an annual running battle in the week between Halloween and Bonfire Night. We would assemble at the top of a series of flights of steps that ran perpendicular to the roads along the side of the hill. Each person had to be wearing correct protective equipment*, have 20 mini rockets*** and a lighter**** The group would split into two and one side would have a 20 second head start. The object of the exercise was to get to the pub at the bottom of the hill while having shit loads of fun which we managed to do without hurting, injuring or killing anyone. We'd gather in the beer garden for a pint, more laughs, jovial recriminations, and retelling the tales of the previous 5 minutes.

Of course now that mini-rockets are no longer available kids have started to play with more dangerous fireworks .. .. .. ..










*Gloves**
** Splinters hurt
*** Some of us might have had more than 20
**** yes, it was back in the days when smoking was sociably less unacceptable.