Keeping a watch on killjoys

Nowadays, the annual event is all about entertainment and enjoyment. That we are burning a real historical figure in effigy is lost on most of those who turn up to wave sparklers or send rockets skywards. Symbolic revenge on the would-be assassin who was intent on blowing up the English parliament has been transformed into a great social occasion.

Unfortunately, as we have seen too frequently in the past, some see the approach of Bonfire Night as an opportunity to spoil others’ fun. For reasons best known to themselves, certain killjoys think that it is funny or clever to set carefully prepared bonfires alight before the big night.

The annual event staged by the Parish of St Martin has suffered particularly badly from this sort of activity, having seen its 2009 bonfire go up in smoke just days before 5 November. That act of vandalism led not only to disappointment for many but also to the loss of funds that would have generated for charity.

This year, however, St Martin has posted a guard – or guards – to ensure that the bonfire remains intact until the appropriate moment. ‘Rocketman’ Terry McDonald, accompanied by his dog Snowy, is watching over the bonfire from the caravan which he occupied for 600 nights at Ronez, looking after the 125,000 rockets that he was unable to use in his ill-fated attempt to stage a record-breaking fireworks display.

Mr McDonald might easily have had quite enough of anything associated with bonfires, fireworks or caravans, but the fact that he is prepared to be the bonfire’s guardian should deter the vandals. The 5,000 people who are expected to turn up to the St Martin event should certainly be grateful that he and Snowy are undertaking their vigil.

It is, meanwhile, probable that many of those who enjoy the bonfire – not to mention many other Islanders – will still be of the opinion that Mr McDonald was treated very shabbily over his aborted record attempt and the debts which accrued as a result of its cancellation. The environmental argument in favour of stopping the record attempt was never strong but the consequences for the organiser were truly dire.