Liahona Youth Activity Centre & Guy Fawkes Bonfire
A major part of our stewardship is to act as administrators and Camp Directors for the Liahona youth camp located on the farm in Feltwell, Norfolk, UK. Nearly half the time we spend at this is in mowing about 7 acres of grass - on a regular basis in the summer months. Today our Ward in Thetford is celebrating Guy Fawkes (say "fox") night at the camp so we have been very busy getting everything in order. We cleaned up the large fire ring (King James I said we have to have a big bonfire), cut down and then cut up a couple large branches from a tree overhanging the fire ring, placed upside down potato trays in a large circle around the fire pit, got three generators going to provide lighting for parking and the camp proper, cleaned the black fen dust off the counters, tables and benches in the eating area, and made sure the hot water heater was working.
When the celebration began, it was dark but we had the place lit up and the people just kept coming. Here are a few of them in the kitchen/dining area and here is the effigy of Guy Fawkes.
He will be burned a bit later as part of the Guy Fawkes Day celebration of the survival of the King and Parliament that were nearly blown up by the powder Guy was guarding. Guy wasn't the ring leader, but he is the one who was captured first so the 5th of November got his name on it.
There was plenty to eat, there was a skit retelling the Guy Fawkes day's origin, and a huge bonfire where he was burned in effigy.
We suppose that the Church would frown a bit on that, but it is a local
cultural event, so --
For the bonfire, we had hauled four loads of obsolete potato trays (6 inch tall wooden slat boxes) from one of the huge barn sheds over a mile to the camp. We pressure washed a bunch of them because they made good benches. You can see them stacked two high circling the fire in the picture on the right. (If you click on any picture it enlarges.)
