Remember, Remember

Since it was market day down by London Fields, we headed over that way to see what goodies we could find. Once we noticed one sign warning fire brigades about potential hazards in individual buildings, we started seeing them everywhere:

London Fields is continuing its autumn shedding, with picturesque results:

I spotted this bicycle at the entrance to Broadway Market and had to get a closer look--the French beret-clad owner of the bike was riding around the neighbourhood, selling fresh onions and garlic bulbs, adding a definite sense of character to market day!

After a browse through the market, we queued for lunch at this busy Ghanaian stall:

I had two stews, spinach (with melon seeds and mushrooms) and pork (with okra), over spicy tomato and herb rice:

Bob also went for the two-stew combo, with two curries (goat and chicken) over the same delicious rice, with an additional accompaniment of deep-fried plantain seasoned with cloves, ginger, and chili:

Everything was excellent and I loved the plantain so much that I'll have to get some of my own next time! After lunch, we dove back into the market in search of a second course. I remembered a stand I had noticed on my last visit and was happy to find it there again, beckoning us with its sign.

We always love a good Vietnamese coffee, and the low price, intriguing "chaser," and available table sealed the deal for us. Bob managed to snag a brownie on our way to the coffee stand, so we sat and enjoyed our treats in the middle of the market.

As soon as he finished his coffee, Bob said, "Let's come here every Saturday for coffee!" The coffee was indeed excellent and the lotus tea was a lovely, slightly bitter follow-up to the sweet, intoxicating coffee. After coffee and dessert, we walked around the market some more, stopping to watch this stallholder make a print as the boy who drew the picture being printed looked on with anticipation.

Markets always bring out the best dogs

and, in the case of Broadway Market, quite an assortment of interesting graffiti:

We were going to take the bus home, but decided to walk instead--good thing, because our route took us past this help-yourself "freebay" stand:

Looks like a bunch of junk, doesn't it? But Bob spotted a telephone cord that we've been meaning to buy so that we can send faxes (in fact, Bob needed to send one tomorrow or Monday)--three of them, in fact, so we even had our choice of colours. Our lovely afternoon stroll saved us a trip to the store as well as about £2 for the cord. Thank you, freebay! After some squinting and staring, I made out "bread" in this almost completely faded sign, but the other words are already beyond recognition:

This face peered at us a few times on the way home,

and this house is very unusual for brick-filled London:

It's nice to know that this building complex got the apostrophe right, especially considering it's a school conversion!

I liked the sun above this door (a bit Teletubbies, but without the baby face):

We spent a few hours at home, reading the Saturday paper and having dinner, before heading out again. Funnily enough, we headed back in the same direction from which we walked this afternoon, this time on an extremely crowded bus and in heavy traffic. It wasn't any less busy when we got to our destination, since tonight was the busiest bonfire and fireworks night of the Guy Fawkes celebrations. Before we moved here, I'm embarrassed to say that I had no idea that "Remember, remember the fifth of November" was anything more than something from V for Vendetta, but now I know otherwise. On 5 November 1605, Guy Fawkes was discovered in a cellar of the Houses of Parliament, along with some 36 barrels of gunpowder which his group of conspirators was planning on using in their protest of Protestant persecution of the Catholic population. Their plan was to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening with the hope of killing the Protestant King James I (who would be present at the opening) along with the Protestant aristocracy in the process. After the discovery of the unsuccessful gunpowder plot, bonfires were lit that night in celebration of the King. Since then, the foiled plot is commemorated on (or near) 5 November every year, with some celebrations including effigies of Guy Fawkes himself. The events of 1605 affect current-day tradition in another way as well, as the reigning monarch continues to celebrate the annual State Opening of Parliament only AFTER the cellars have been ceremoniously searched. There were numerous fireworks displays across greater London last night and tonight, but we decided to forgo the ones that charged admission (for fireworks??!!) and went to tonight's Victoria Park celebrations, relatively close to home. Everyone on our bus got off at the park and as we walked toward the lights, we realised that a carnival had been going on for much of the day. I love rides, but since Bob doesn't, we tend to watch more than ride. "I'll go on a ride with you, if you want," Bob said tonight. "Which one?" I asked. "You pick," was his offhand reply, but when I picked, Bob said, "Oh, no, not that one!"

We didn't end up going on a ride though (much to someone's relief!), and we just made our way to one end of the park, where a crowd was beginning to gather.

A large mock-up of Big Ben stood directly in front of us as we waited for the explosions to begin.

Bonfire night turned out to be quite an entertaining outing--mostly due to the burning effigies, but the fireworks were also impressive and the event as a whole was great fun.

After the first few fireworks, an effigy of Guy Fawkes was raised (to hoots and cheers):

He towered over Big Ben,

lit a spark,

aimed,

and set Big Ben ablaze (which prompted even louder cheers from the crowd--aren't we supposed to be celebrating the foiling of the plot?),

at which point, it took off, rocket-like, into the fireworks-filled sky.

After a while, the clock started spinning furiously, giving off sparks until Big Ben was extinguished,

and the sky was left to the fireworks booming overhead.

After the pyrotechnics finished, the enormous crowd funnelled out of the park's designated exits in an amazingly orderly fashion, and we left our first Guy Fawkes bonfire night with smiles on our faces and a bit of ash on our coats from Guy and Big Ben!