Inspiration for Block Six
Alison Owens
Spectacular murmurations. Sadly, not my photograph!
At their Guy Faulk celebrations Lewes honours 17 Protestant martyrs who were burnt at the stake on the high street between 1555 and 1557 by carrying 17 flaming crosses through the town and down the steep hill, its a sight to be seen.
Murmurations, have you seen them? It’s an amazing spectacle where starlings gather each evening and create the most amazing shapes in the sky. We live near Eastbourne and they gather over our gold, blingy pier and creating phenomenal shapes in the sky. It’s also this time of the year we hear the mating call of the tawny owl over the back fields. Their ‘tu-whit, to-whoo’ call is loud and distinctive and carries a long way in the dark nights made quieter because of the current lock down. As you might have guessed I’m a avid fan of Autumn Watch!
The events of November 5th seem to have gone up in a puff of smoke this year where normally you will find towns and
villages in East Sussex and Kent, commemorating the plot of Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605 all has been eerily quiet. In normal years bonfire societies organise displays of fireworks, torch lit processions, tar barrel runs, and festivities with gay abandonment.
Overall these festivities are a sight to behold and although we all missed out on a good firework display this year I still wanted to reflect what will hopefully be our ‘normal’ firework night in the future – Catherine Wheels, Bonfires, poor old Guy Fawkes and of course the kids enjoying every minute with the simple pleasure of a sparkler (who doesn’t love a sparkler)?
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