In Britain, around this time of year, there is a tradition of begging, with an effigy of Guy Fawkes crumpled in a heap nearby.
I was unfamiliar with this cultural detail, but I'm not one to fail to contribute when asked for money, so I've always given what I had
in these situations. It wasn't until last night that I actually caught what the kid was saying, "penny for a guy?"
I walked in the sitting room when I arrived home and repeated the plea to my husband.
"Penny for a guy?"
"Yeah, Guy Fawkes," he retorts
This is apparently all he has to say on the matter.
So, being the ardent investigator of this new world in which I live, I looked it up.
And it was fresh on my mind when I read the following article in today's Manchester Evening News.
View attachment 12337
Thousands of powerful fireworks have been stolen in a raid on a Manchester warehouse by a gang of ten men armed with machetes.
Terrified security guards were tied up as the raiders spent more than an hour loading three huge wooden pallets into a getaway lorry.
Each pallet was packed with both domestic and industrial-strength fireworks which police warned could kill or cause serious injury in the wrong hands.
The gang burst into the warehouse, on Hargreaves Street in Strangeways, around midnight.
They calmly spent more than an hour loading the pallets into the truck.
The warehouse is a fully-licenced fireworks storage depot, which distributes to shops throughout the region.
The raiders, who were also armed with wooden bats lined with nails – struck in the early hours of yesterday.
The stolen fireworks are understood to have included high-velocity rockets and air bombs.
Police were called to the scene after one of the guards was able to free himself and raise the alarm. A car – believed to have been used by the raiders – and a small amount of fireworks were recovered in Blackfriars, Salford.
The public were warned today to report anyone trying to sell the stolen fireworks in pubs, from vans, or in other unlicensed premises.
Det Sgt Alex Wild, of North Manchester CID, said: "They are deadly and need to be taken off the streets.
"We want the public’s help to catch this criminal gang.
They subjected the security guards to an hour-long ordeal in which they didn’t know whether they would be harmed or not. Thankfully, they were not injured, but that doesn’t lessen the impact this crime will have on them mentally."
Stuart Morgan, petroleum and explosives manager at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said: "In light of this firework theft, I would underline safety messages surrounding buying fireworks. People shouldn’t buy fireworks from anywhere they’re not sure about."
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of robbery and were being questioned by police.
I love this sentence, "Terrified security guards were tied up as the raiders spent more than an hour loading three huge wooden pallets into a getaway lorry."
getaway LORRY?
not the usual choice of getaway vehicle
Instantly, I thought, "well there goes the fireworks display for Bonfire Night."
I don't have the information required to be "sure" about fireworks.
I've only ever purchased a handful of sparklers and bottle rockets, myself.
Not really one for messing about with things that can explode.
Unless you count ill-tempered men.
I was unfamiliar with this cultural detail, but I'm not one to fail to contribute when asked for money, so I've always given what I had
in these situations. It wasn't until last night that I actually caught what the kid was saying, "penny for a guy?"
I walked in the sitting room when I arrived home and repeated the plea to my husband.
"Penny for a guy?"
"Yeah, Guy Fawkes," he retorts
This is apparently all he has to say on the matter.
So, being the ardent investigator of this new world in which I live, I looked it up.
And it was fresh on my mind when I read the following article in today's Manchester Evening News.
View attachment 12337
Thousands of powerful fireworks have been stolen in a raid on a Manchester warehouse by a gang of ten men armed with machetes.
Terrified security guards were tied up as the raiders spent more than an hour loading three huge wooden pallets into a getaway lorry.
Each pallet was packed with both domestic and industrial-strength fireworks which police warned could kill or cause serious injury in the wrong hands.
The gang burst into the warehouse, on Hargreaves Street in Strangeways, around midnight.
They calmly spent more than an hour loading the pallets into the truck.
The warehouse is a fully-licenced fireworks storage depot, which distributes to shops throughout the region.
The raiders, who were also armed with wooden bats lined with nails – struck in the early hours of yesterday.
The stolen fireworks are understood to have included high-velocity rockets and air bombs.
Police were called to the scene after one of the guards was able to free himself and raise the alarm. A car – believed to have been used by the raiders – and a small amount of fireworks were recovered in Blackfriars, Salford.
The public were warned today to report anyone trying to sell the stolen fireworks in pubs, from vans, or in other unlicensed premises.
Det Sgt Alex Wild, of North Manchester CID, said: "They are deadly and need to be taken off the streets.
"We want the public’s help to catch this criminal gang.
They subjected the security guards to an hour-long ordeal in which they didn’t know whether they would be harmed or not. Thankfully, they were not injured, but that doesn’t lessen the impact this crime will have on them mentally."
Stuart Morgan, petroleum and explosives manager at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, said: "In light of this firework theft, I would underline safety messages surrounding buying fireworks. People shouldn’t buy fireworks from anywhere they’re not sure about."
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of robbery and were being questioned by police.
I love this sentence, "Terrified security guards were tied up as the raiders spent more than an hour loading three huge wooden pallets into a getaway lorry."
getaway LORRY?
not the usual choice of getaway vehicle
Instantly, I thought, "well there goes the fireworks display for Bonfire Night."
I don't have the information required to be "sure" about fireworks.
I've only ever purchased a handful of sparklers and bottle rockets, myself.
Not really one for messing about with things that can explode.
Unless you count ill-tempered men.
