Page 5 - Demo

PAGE 5Remember, remember the fifth of November%u2026gunpowder, treason and plot!I wonder how many people are thinking of blowing up Parliament these days?I loved fireworks night (or Guy Fawkes night) as a child. The crackling, crisp November air, toffee apples, oxtail soup, a sparkler or two and the smell of sulphur. In those days Dads bought their own fireworks, which could be a recipe for disaster, especially for the garden fence. Those Catherine Wheels never worked properly.We took weeks to build a massive bonfire in the nearest field, which someone then had to guard. There were always a few warnings and accidents along the way, including the odd unfortunate hedgehog. A stuffed Guy was burned and we all celebrated with after-eights and a Carry-On film.Since 1605 we%u2019ve been giving thanks for the King%u2019s apparent deliverance by divine intervention, and burning a traitor. So although the Gunpowder Plot now feels more alluring than ever, as an adult I turn my attention to November 11th or the nearest Sunday as I prefer to celebrate these heroes. Kohima is a hill town on the India-Myanmar border that between April and June of 1944 saw some of the bitterest fighting of the Far East campaign. British, Indian and Ghurka units defeated a massive Japanese offensive taking heavy casualties. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery bears the epitaph which has become synonymous with this battle: When you go home, tell them of us, and say %u201cFor your to-morrows these gave their to-day%u201d.It was written by John Maxwell Edwards in 1919, was one of 12 war epitaphs and aimed at a British graveyard in France. The Kohima epitaph says it all simply and with brevity. It%u2019s as hard hitting now as when I first heard it.There are many memorial services across the area. I hope you can make one.Have a great November. Mike Dear ReadersDEADLINE FOR DECEMBER: 18TH NOVEMBER