IT'S that time of year again - Bonfire Night is upon us once more.
With events more or less entirely called off due to covid last year, 2021 is a chance for families up and down the country to make up for lost time.
So whether you're looking for the best fireworks displays in your area, the latest weather forecasts or if you're simply hoping to bag some great Guy Fawkes-themed supermarket deals, we have you covered.
This live blog will cover absolutely everything Bonfire Night related so make it your one-stop shop for making plans and grabbing a bargain this year.
Read our Bonfire Night live blog below for the very latest updates...
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 9 minutes ago
Bonfire night washout predicted
A four-day "Arctic blast" is set to bring icy temperatures, gales and even snow in a Bonfire Night washout.
Temperatures are set to plunge after Britain was whipped by 80mph winds and lashed by torrential rain over the Halloween weekend.
Although it will be mostly dry during the week, the heavy rain returns on Friday for the Bonfire Night weekend, with blustery winds in the north.
A Met Office forecaster said: "After a wet and windy Halloween with a deep Atlantic low pressure system and damaging winds, it turns colder into the new week."
Bookmakers Coral have already slashed odds on November being the wettest on record to 6-4.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 23 minutes ago
What was the plan to blow up Parliament?
Robert Catesby came up with the plan to blow up Parliament and kill King James I in order to install his daughter as the new Catholic ruler.
The plotters initially rented a house on one side of the House of Lords and tried to dig a tunnel to plant explosives under the House of Lords.
But this proved too tricky and they instead rented a basement directly beneath the House in March 1605.
With just days to go before the plan was due to go ahead, the government received an anonymous tip-off.
Guy Fawkes was caught red handed with 36 barrels of gunpowder on 5th November. He was tortured and eventually gave up his co-conspirators.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 26 minutes ago
Who was the leader of the Gunpowder Plot?
Despite being less famous than Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby was actually the mastermind behind the gunpowder plot.
He was born around 1572 in Warwickshire to a Catholic family in newly-Protestant England.
He was said to be charismatic and made friends easily – many of whom remained fiercely loyal to him.
Catesby became deeply religious as he matured after what was said to be a wild youth.
He wanted to bring England back to the Catholic faith and is understood to have colluded with the Spanish government in 1602 about instigating a rebellion to achieve that goal.
Robert Catesby wanted to bring Protestant England back to Catholic rule Credit: Hulton Archive - Getty
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 29 minutes ago
Why do we celebrate with bonfires and fireworks?
Bonfire Night is celebrated in the UK by lighting bonfires, burning "Guys", which are effigies styled after the plotter and setting off fireworks.
People first started lighting bonfires as a celebration that the king hadn't been killed, and the tradition has persisted to this day.
Fireworks are also set off throughout the country as they are powered by gunpowder, representing the explosives that were never used.
And yeoman of the guard still search the cellars of the Houses of Parliament before the state opening in November.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 32 minutes ago
What was the gunpowder plot?
The gunpowder plot was centred around a group of Roman Catholic revolutionaries furious at the persecution of their faith in England.
After 45 years of hounding under the reign of Elizabeth I the plotters had hoped their struggles would end but they failed to after the Protestant King James I ascended to the throne.
Catesby and his friends planned to take matters into their own hands and kill the King and his ministers by blowing up the Palace of Westminster during the state opening of Parliament.
The plotters were: Guy Fawkes, Thomas Bates, Robert and Thomas Wintour, Thomas Percy, Christopher and John Wright, Francis Tresham, Everard Digby, Ambrose Rookwood, Robert Keyes, Hugh Owen, John Grant and the man who organised the whole plot - Robert Catesby.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 36 minutes ago
No penny for a Guy (continued)
An advert for the display reads: “This year the event is ‘Going Green’ with an eco-friendly virtual Bonfire on the Big Screen.
“Strictly no sparklers, these will not be allowed on to the site.”
Adult tickets are being sold for ￡10 while kids go for a quid and there is parking on site for those going by car.
Locals have dubbed the would-be spectacle “joyless” — and accused organisers of holding a “pointless evening”.
Mum Masie Bennett said: “Aside from last year because of Covid, the bonfire on fireworks night is usually a yearly event for me and the kids.
I just don’t understand the point in pulling the bonfire but carrying on with fireworks — and allowing everyone to drive to the event by hosting parking too. That’s hardly being green.
“A fake bonfire is pretty joyless. If we’re just going to watch a flame on a television screen then it’s a bit rubbish and we may as well do that at home.”
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 39 minutes ago
No penny for a Guy
Firework display organisers in a trendy part of south London have axed the bonfire at a Guy Fawkes bash — and replaced it with a giant telly showing a blaze.
Sparklers are also banned at the event, with adverts claiming the changes will be better for the environment.
But there will at least still be fireworks to brighten the night.
It will be the first time the traditional festivities have taken place without a real fire at Dulwich Sports Club in the wealthy and wokest corner of South East London.
Up to 7,000 people usually go to the display run by the private club.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 42 minutes ago
Sainsbury's ban sales of fireworks again
BRITS won't be able to buy their bangers from Sainsbury's this year.
The company has once again banned the sale of fireworks from all of its stores.
The supermarket stopped selling fireworks a number of years ago - and won't be offering them to customers again this year.
The move was sparked by concerns raised by charities that fireworks cause unnecessary distress to pets, wildlife and elderly people.
But other supermarkets will still have them on their shelves - here is where to get your hands on some sparklers.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 45 minutes ago
Poor pets
While humans may ooh and ahh at the pretty displays many of the furry companions tend to quiver in fear.
According to the RSPCA, 45% of pets have shown some fear of the fireworks and the loud bangs they make.
A dog cannot understand that the bangs are just colourful rockets being fired into the sky and that they are safe with their humans.
To help your pooch cope, before fireworks season starts the RSCPA recommends setting up a corner of your home just for your pet.
This can be a warm, safe and possibly reasonably sound proof part of the house such as a kennel, a bed or under the stairs. Help the animal associate it with positive experiences such as putting their favourite toys in it.
Hopefully the animal will go there when they get scared.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 48 minutes ago
Who was Guy Fawkes?
Guy Fawkes - or Guido Fawkes as he would have called himself - was an English Catholic born around 1570 in York.
During the 1570s, despite previously promising 'not to make windows into people's souls, Elizabeth I stepped up her persecution of Catholics in her realm after the Pope excommunicated her - making it not a sin for a Catholic to kill her.
This embittered Fawkes who left the country to fight for Catholic Spain and later tried to drum up support for a Catholic rebellion without success.
He later returned to England after James I&VI took the throne to take part in a planned rebellion organised by Robert Catesby. The plan was to detonate gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament - killing James and his eldest son Henry.
Contrary to popular myth, Fawkes was not the ringleader - he was just the guy who was caught guarding the gunpowder when the plot was rumbled.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 50 minutes ago
What is the Firework Code?
The RSPA has its very own Firework code published on its website.
It does recommend going to an organised display but if you do want to have a your own fireworks display these are its top tips:
Plan your firework display to make it safe and enjoyable, and check the time you can legally set off fireworks Only buy fireworks which carry the CE or UKCA marks, keep them in a closed box, and use them one at a time Read and follow the instructions on each firework using a torch if necessary Light the firework at arm's length with a taper and stand well back Keep naked flames, including cigarettes, away from fireworks Never return to a firework once it has been lit Don't put fireworks in pockets and never throw them Direct any rocket fireworks well away from spectators Never use paraffin or petrol on a bonfire Make sure that the fire is out and surroundings are made safe before leaving.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 53 minutes ago
Bonfire night
Bonfire Night is fun for the whole family - but it can be dangerous.
The Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents has annual campaigns to encourage people to encourage the night safely.
Some of its top tips include not standing too close to any bonfire, going to organised fireworks displays rather than in someone's back garden and keeping anything more powerful than a sparkler away from children.
caroline.mortimer@thesun.co.uk 56 minutes ago
When is Bonfire Night?
Bonfire Night, also known as Guy Fawkes night, is traditional held on 5th November in Great Britain.
It commemorates the failure of the Gunpower Plot of 1605 where a group of Catholic conspirators tried to blow up Parliament.
An effigy of Guy Fawkes, known as a 'Guy', is burned on the top of a massive bonfire at sites across the UK.
Events are usually organised by charities - such as the Round Table club - or by local councils.
They are usually accompanied by firework displays.
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