Phil Perry Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 BLOODY GUY FAWKES NIGHT IS ALMOST UPON US AGAIN. . .SOD IT ! Bangs and whistles going off every night for the past few days. I disagree with fireworks being sold to the public nowadays,in favour of Organized displays. . as they are nearly always abused and a lot of kids get injured by them well before the 5th of November. In the early days ( 50s - 60s ) you couldn't buy fireworks until around Nov 1st or 2nd. . .none of the shops showed any stock before then, not sure if this was by law or what. I noticed that several vacant shops have been taken over for the past three or four weeks, selling nothing but El-Cheapo imported fireworks. The local terrorists have been letting them off for quite a while now, and I feel really sorry for those people whose pets are terrified by the bloody bangs.. . .Not to mention older folks too. The cops attended a park near my place last Wednesday evening, where a couple of gangs of kids had been having a fun 'Duel' across the park, actually HOLDING and firing projectile fireworks directly AT each other ! . . . Some of these shops are selling 'Under the counter' Class 2 - Display grade pyrotechnics, which are illegal for sale to the public. . . .Some of these papier mache star shells have to be fired from a long, thick cardboard tube well secured into the ground, and can project up to over 700 feet AGL. . . .bloody insanity selling these things to kids.. . . Contemporaneously speaking,. . since I started typing this Gripe,. . I have heard nine very loud bangs, and seen one multi-effect starshell detonation around a mile down the street. . .lunacy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Koreelah Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Interesting that Britain has gone so far in removing firearms from adults, but still allows children to buy lethal fireworks. I somehow survived a childhood of crackers, double bungers, and all the home-made cannons we could devise. I bought chemical ingredients by mail order and my rockets terrified the neighbourhood. What kept me from killing myself or losing an eye? Not much. I'm sure glad fireworks are no longer sold to the general public in most states. Spending a week in Darwin around Territory Day shows how stupid people can be. More than 20 people injured during NT's cracker night celebrations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 The problem now is that fireworks in the hands of morons have an added ingredient ... alcohol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty_d Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I looked into buying some this year (in Tassie the public can only buy fireworks for use on cracker night - 27th May). However you have to pay a license fee of $250 before you even start buying the fireworks, and they're expensive as hell. We're off to Germany this christmas so I'm looking forward to buying some and letting them off for the kids - we'll be in a rural area on xmas so the only things we'll frighten are some horses. I agree with OK though - although I had a lot of fun with fireworks as a kid, I also heard of kids losing hands and eyes so as a parent I'm quite glad my kids don't have the same access to them that I did!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David2ayo Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Cracker season used to be, well, a cracker! I have fond nightmares of discovering a tuppenny bunger would just fit inside an oyster bottle (we found half the base eventually), a penny bunger was a tight fit in a 3/4" pipe tee. With a 2' length of pipe screwed into it containing a few marbles it made a fairly effective cannon. The weirdest stuff-up I managed was to annoy my father by letting off the odd bunger in the backyard until his patience wore a bit thin, and he called last drinks - er, bangs. So, being a clever little so and so, lit two simultaneously. The first to blow sent the other one into the as-yet unlit pile, setting off my entire stock of double happies and the odd penny bunger. Dad was laughing so much at my antics of trying to retrieve at least a couple of remnants he had to sit down. Fortunately, he must have thought the loss of my collection was punishment enough. David. Now grown up and much more sensible. Maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 I looked into buying some this year (in Tassie the public can only buy fireworks for use on cracker night - 27th May). However you have to pay a license fee of $250 before you even start buying the fireworks, and they're expensive as hell. We're off to Germany this christmas so I'm looking forward to buying some and letting them off for the kids - we'll be in a rural area on xmas so the only things we'll frighten are some horses. I agree with OK though - although I had a lot of fun with fireworks as a kid, I also heard of kids losing hands and eyes so as a parent I'm quite glad my kids don't have the same access to them that I did!! I have to admit that my attitude to buggering about with fireworks has altered radically as I've aged Marty. . .I'm horrified now at the sort of stupidity my friends and I used to get up to, dissecting fireworks for the powder content and making bombs by wrapping loads of powder in some thin gauge tinplate, and unwinding a Pin wheel as a fuse. . . how none of us were killed doing this stuff is a miracle. The only injury our gang suffered was one lad lost the end of his middle finger when something detonated in his hand before he could chuck it. . . We normally don't see any fireworks around Christmas time,. . . but midnight on New Year's Eve is bloody Armageddon on steroids. . .. All over the country ! . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 I well remember Bonfire Night at the end of May. It was a community event. The local council made a huge bonfire in a park that wasn't much better than a wasteland. I think the local Service Clubs set up the boundary fences and entry gates where they collected the shillings and sixpences 'for a good cause'. It was invariably a chilly night, so, well rugged up against the cold, families gathered in the park with their gags of Roman Candles, Flowerpots, Golden Showers and sky rockets. The Great Bonfire was lit, and in a circle on the edges of its glow, coloured flame oohed and ahhed the crowd. It was the early birds the next morning who raced back to the park to glean for unexploded bungers and dropped 'pretty ones' amongst the charred red paper and cheap cardboard. Then came days of hoping that the dew-dampened wicks would dry to provide the explosive forces needed to blow apart ants' nests, trapdoor spider holes and the like. The thought never came to us to see the effects of an explosion in a confined metal space .... (and the fiction continues) OME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadpete Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 OME, you forgot to include the juvenile terrorist attacks upon letterboxes. There was a lot of kudos that went to the brave kids who got a tuppeny bunger into our local Mr Plod's letterbox. We kept the letterbox manufacturers in business with our annual sales boost after cracker night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 Talking to younger Brother Ray last night at the pub about this,. . since there were bangs going off as we sat outside the place having a cigar ( as you have to ) He told me a story of what he and his mates got up to when he was around 13 Y/O. . . HIs school mates all clubbed togther and bought a load of 'Garden' fireworks . . he used to call them 'FIZZERS', or 'Pretties' since they didn't go 'Bloody BANG'. . .one of his mates Dads had a car Panelbeating business, ad he made a rather large metal encapsulation for this super bunger,. . .( Or BANGER ) as they were known in the UK. then. . They were not as mechanically clever as us older blokes, in our time, and needed a fuse to set the thing off. They dug a shallow hole in the farmer's field opposite our house and placed a clod of turf on top of it. Then they got some loose powder and poured it along the ground for around 20 feet . .. ( He'd seen that done in Cowboy films ) to give the 'Lighter' bloke a chance to get away.. . . Brother Ray still has a scar on the back of his neck from a piece of shrapnel from this excercise, as the silly bugger volunteered to light the fuse, which ignited along it's full length almost immediately and the thing went off before he could 'leg it' ( His words ) far enough away. Mum had to take him to the local hospital as he was bleeding profusely from his battle scar. . . . .Local Bobby came around the next day and told him that he'd have to pay for the window replacement when the clod of earth and turf flew through it. . . .some 75 yards away. . . At least he didn't 'Grass Up' his 'Mates'. . .he said ! ! ! ( And you people wonder why I'm a bit weird ?. . .same Genes I'm afraid. .. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 I looked into buying some this year (in Tassie the public can only buy fireworks for use on cracker night - 27th May). However you have to pay a license fee of $250 before you even start buying the fireworks, and they're expensive as hell. We're off to Germany this christmas so I'm looking forward to buying some and letting them off for the kids - we'll be in a rural area on xmas so the only things we'll frighten are some horses. I agree with OK though - although I had a lot of fun with fireworks as a kid, I also heard of kids losing hands and eyes so as a parent I'm quite glad my kids don't have the same access to them that I did!! I never heard of 'Cracker Night' . . .since I left Australia in 1983, . . .When we emigrated to Australia, arriving at the Port of Fremantle at 5:30 AM one Sunny morning, in February 1971, we were met two days later at Port Melbourne by our friends from Aldridge, UK, who had emigrated 3 years before us. When November rolled around,. .I asked my friends if Guy Fawkes Night was celebrated in Australia and they were horrified. . .NOOOOOOOO Phil,. .. they said,. . .this is bushfire time. . we can't have people letting off rockets and stuff when the gum trees spontaneously combust without much assistance,. . and of course, they were right. Sounds interesting though, having it in May.. . . nowt better than a freezing cold BBQ rugged up in coats and enjoying the festivities,. . Hog roast. .Burgers, Hot Dogs, Grilled Snapper, Filled, Baked Potatoes, Roast Chestnuts do you have them ?. . .and the Pyrotechnics of course. I had a Pyrotechnics display licence for a while, but you have to renew it every 24 months, and I haven't. . . I used to assist in organized displays with a friend who ran a fireworks company locally. .. he diversified into selling Hydroponics stuff, mainly to Dindus so that they could grow weed in their lofts. . .he doesn't bother with displays any longer as the 'Weed' equipment supply business is much more profitable than importing and flogging Chinese fireworks. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willedoo Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Phil, I can't speak for other states, but as a kid growing up in Queensland, cracker night was originally held at the proper time in November. Unfortunately, it was also around the time all the wheat and barley crops were ripe and ready for harvest plus the bush fire danger as well. I can't remember the exact year the date changed to earlier in the year, but it was in the 60's. Cheers, Willie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 You bloody Poms deserve the EU!. You've forgotten about Monarch and Empire. The first Empire Day took place on 24 May 1902, celebrated prior to 1901 as the birthday of Queen Victoria, who died on 22 January 1901 It was instituted in the United Kingdom in 1905 by Lord Meath, and extended throughout the countries of the Commonwealth; Empire Day was a “symbol of that unity of feeling . . . to those ideals of freedom, justice, and tolerance for which the British Empire [stood] throughout the world.”. In 1958, Harold Macmillan announced in Parliament the re-naming of Empire Day as Commonwealth Day. The Commonwealth and Britain have a shared history, cultural links, common legal systems and business practices. The idea of a day that would “remind children that they formed part of the British Empire, and that they might think with others in lands across the sea, what it meant to be sons and daughters of such a glorious Empire”; and which apprised them that “The strength of the Empire depended upon them, and they must never forget it” was conceived earlier, in 1897. In 1898, loyalist Canadian Clementina Trenholme introduced an Empire Day to Ontario schools, on the last school day before 24 May, Queen Victoria's birthday. Empire Day Empire Day and Cracker Night These kids must have been from Queensland, because it was too damned cold south of Newcastle to be out at night wearing those sorts of clothes. [ATTACH]49016._xfImport[/ATTACH] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgwilson Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Guy Fawkes night (5th of November) was celebrated in NZ when I was a kid. We all knew it was about some bloke called Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up parliament in England but didn't know anything else about the story & didn't care anyway. We used to dress up in old ragged clothes & put a mask on, knock on doors, try to scare the owners & then sing a ditty with "Penny for the Guy" in there somewhere. We then went to the local shop & spent the money on fireworks, mainly crackers. There were a number of bonfires set up around town & everyone congregated around them & let off their fireworks after dark. We really looked forward to it each year. I do remember one kid who got burnt when some other kid but a lit cracker in his pocket & it went off also setting of all of the others he had in his pocket. We thought it was absolutely hilarious at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farri Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 As a kid, in Tully Nth Qld, I loved Guy Fawkes night, that was when you could buy fireworks from various places, most of us knew it was about some bloke called Guy Fawkes who tried to blow up parliament in England but didn't know anything else about the story & we didn't care either, we just had a lot of fun. So! What`s one of my gripes? I`m thoroughly disgusted with the behaviour of our politicians,in Parliament and to make it worse, they allow school children to observe from the public gallery and televise the proceedings...Would the sort of behaviour they go on with, be acceptable in any board room, anywhere? I don`t think so, so why should it be acceptable in our Parliament?...It shouldn`t be!!! These guys, are supposed to be running the country but mostly what they do is jeer at each other and try to rake up as much muck as possible on the other guy, so that they can keep their own position...How the hell then,can we get good policy making, from them. Oh! By the way! With some of them loosing their seat due to dual citizenship,technically, hasn`t the government, been governing illegally? Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgwilson Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 It looks like a few more are likely to fall & that means the government will too. If they checked back to the date of the constitution there probably hasn't been a single legitimate government since. What a joke & totally pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 Legally being allowed by Australian Law to exercise two rights - holding dual citizenship and the right to sit in Federal Parliament - is another example of the Legislative left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Dual citizenship Can you become a dual citizen? Australia allows its citizens to hold dual nationality. Other countries may not. To check if your country allows its citizens to hold dual or multiple citizenships, contact the embassy or consulate of that country in Australia. The Australia Act 1986 (Cth) The Australia Act (Cth and UK) eliminated the remaining possibilities for the UK to legislate with effect in Australia, for the UK to be involved in Australian government, and for an appeal from any Australian court to a British court.[1] The High Court in Sue v Hill in 1999[23] did not rely upon the long title or the preamble, which conventionally do not have force of law. But it decided that the effect of the Australia Act 1986 (Cth) was that, at least from the date when the Act came into operation, Britain had become a "foreign power" within the meaning of Constitution section 44(i), so that a parliamentary candidate who had British nationality was ineligible to be a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. Sue v Hill was an Australian court case decided in the High Court of Australia on 23 June 1999. It concerned a dispute over the apparent return of a candidate, Heather Hill, to the Australian Senate in the 1998 federal election. The result was challenged on the basis that Hill was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Australia, and that section 44(i) of the Constitution of Australia prevents any person who is the citizen of a "foreign power" from being elected to the Parliament of Australia. The High Court found that, at least for the purposes of section 44(i), the United Kingdom is a foreign power to Australia. Section 44 of the Constitution states as one of five inhibitors to holding a Federal seat 44. Any person who - (i.) Is under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power The Australian Electoral Commission reproduces the section in its Candidates Handbook, where it draws particular attention to s 44(i) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted November 8, 2017 Author Share Posted November 8, 2017 Legally being allowed by Australian Law to exercise two rights - holding dual citizenship and the right to sit in Federal Parliament - is another example of the Legislative left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.Dual citizenship Can you become a dual citizen? Australia allows its citizens to hold dual nationality. Other countries may not. To check if your country allows its citizens to hold dual or multiple citizenships, contact the embassy or consulate of that country in Australia. The Australia Act 1986 (Cth) The Australia Act (Cth and UK) eliminated the remaining possibilities for the UK to legislate with effect in Australia, for the UK to be involved in Australian government, and for an appeal from any Australian court to a British court.[1] The High Court in Sue v Hill in 1999[23] did not rely upon the long title or the preamble, which conventionally do not have force of law. But it decided that the effect of the Australia Act 1986 (Cth) was that, at least from the date when the Act came into operation, Britain had become a "foreign power" within the meaning of Constitution section 44(i), so that a parliamentary candidate who had British nationality was ineligible to be a member of the Commonwealth Parliament. Sue v Hill was an Australian court case decided in the High Court of Australia on 23 June 1999. It concerned a dispute over the apparent return of a candidate, Heather Hill, to the Australian Senate in the 1998 federal election. The result was challenged on the basis that Hill was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Australia, and that section 44(i) of the Constitution of Australia prevents any person who is the citizen of a "foreign power" from being elected to the Parliament of Australia. The High Court found that, at least for the purposes of section 44(i), the United Kingdom is a foreign power to Australia. Section 44 of the Constitution states as one of five inhibitors to holding a Federal seat 44. Any person who - (i.) Is under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power The Australian Electoral Commission reproduces the section in its Candidates Handbook, where it draws particular attention to s 44(i) I still hold dual Nationality. . .( Australia / UK ) But Don't worry folks. . . I shall NOT be running for public office anywhere in the forseeable. . . . For ONE thing, I am insuffishentlie erudyte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadpete Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I still hold dual Nationality. . .( Australia / UK ) But Don't worry folks. . . I shall NOT be running for public office anywhere in the forseeable. . . . For ONE thing, I am insuffishentlie erudyte. Thanks for that, Phil. That's reassuring. I'd be worried if you came home to stand for Parliament. The last thing we need is a politician with a brain. But why did you post this confession in the"gripes" thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 Thanks for that, Phil. That's reassuring. I'd be worried if you came home to stand for Parliament.The last thing we need is a politician with a brain. But why did you post this confession in the"gripes" thread? Cos' I can imagine the Gripes if another bloody Pommie got into Government in Australia ? . . . .Or it could be responding to OME, I dunno. . . .I don't like to post following a very nice dinner and 1.5 bottles of Red Ned mate. . .( as you Know from past experience. . .. . .) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadpete Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 My wife was reading over my shoulder - said "don't tell me Phil's on the Red again" I had my red "tongue lubricant" last night and I'm still ranting. It's getting late in your part of the world. Shouldn't you be going to bed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted November 21, 2017 Author Share Posted November 21, 2017 My wife was reading over my shoulder - said "don't tell me Phil's on the Red again" I had my red "tongue lubricant" last night and I'm still ranting. It's getting late in your part of the world. Shouldn't you be going to bed? Nah. . .it's only 21:38. . . I shall crap post until around 23:00 then head off. . .only got one job to d tomorrow and I can't start that until around Noon so a nice Lie-In until 0900 seems likely mate. . . I won the EuroMillions Lottery tonight,. . got 3 numbers and won £5.02. . .. That's what bought 3/4 of one bottle of vin rouge mate. . . ( Only drink El-Cheapo stuff on weekdays. . . ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Five pounds, two pence? That's $AU8.75. ALDI have a nice two litre Chateau Cardboard for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Bah, Humbug Gripe Remember when the Christmas Season began in the middle of December and went until the 6th of January? I can deal with supermarkets starting to sell Christmas fare in September, and Muzak Christmas Carols on an endless loop, but I really can't stand Foxtel broadcasting super syrupy seasonal movies with stereotypical plots from the middle of November - even before Thanksgiving. I really look forward to the Boxing Day sales, when I can start to horde Easter eggs. OME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadpete Posted November 22, 2017 Share Posted November 22, 2017 Now THAT'S a gripe. Poor old Phil must be losing it....... He's only on about grApes I can get away with that - Phil will be tucked up in bed by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Perry Posted November 22, 2017 Author Share Posted November 22, 2017 Five pounds, two pence? That's $AU8.75. ALDI have a nice two litre Chateau Cardboard for that! Sorry OME, I was quoting Restaurant prices there. . . Corkage an' alll that malarkey innit . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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