Monday Moods: I feel... Fawkes-y.

... Remember, Remember The Fifth of November ...

This Friday, I got to celebrate my first Guy Fawkes night

in a proper English fashion:

A night in Battersea park for the festivities

sandwiched between hanging out in a pub with friends.

{The pub, The Prince of Wales, was actually really great.}

If you aren't a British History buff,

in the 1600's Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament 

by stashing gun powder underneath the main building.

His plot was uncovered at the last minute

and was promptly... "snuffed out,"

Guy Fawkes was hung, drawn & quartered 

at the Tower of London as punishment.

Err... oops.

Today, Britain celebrates the foiling of his plans

by building bonfires and throwing "faux Fawkes" on top

and setting off fireworks to symbolize the (could have been) gun powder explosions.

fireworks make everyone happy.

It's all pretty funny & medieval, actually.

Last year, we skipped town to try out the Canary Islands,

but this year, we couldn't miss out on a night in London

meeting up with some of our friends from Oxford.

{We miss our friends!}

We went to Battersea Park and were amazed

by the crowds of people...

oh my goodness, it was insane.

At the end of the night, the gates were so full and crowded,

the crowds opted to climb over the high fences 

and jump to the outer road.

Watching hundreds of people scale these wrought iron poles 

and jump to the pavement below

was like watching the last 30 minutes of "Titanic."

While I can't say Guy Fawkes was the most exciting event

- consisting mainly of standing in a field and waiting in the cold-

the fireworks were great

and the bonfire was a really fun (and redneck) way

to change up our London scene.

*You can also watch V for Vendetta for a modern remake of Guy Fawkes plot.*

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy

*images 6 & 7 shot by Alanna Petroff