Bonfire Night Part 2

On Bonfire Night, I wasn’t sure whether I would go to see some fireworks and a bonfire in the evening. I had lunch with my American friend and it was a big day for American people not because of Bonfire Night but because of the American presidential election results. All of the newspapers in England reported about it; perhaps the new American president, Obama, might be more famous than British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in England now.
I asked whether she would go to somewhere for Bonfire Night, but she told me she was probably not going. Bonfire Night reminds her of the Hollywood movie “V for Vendetta” and she asked me whether I had watched it or not. What a coincidence, my other friend just recommended reading the graphic novel (マンガ) before watching the movie. So I said “I borrowed the manga from my friend and I’m trying to read that first.” Then she asked “Did you start reading it? Where are you now?” My answer was, “Not even a single page. I haven’t started to read it yet.”

After having lunch, I went to my English class and my teacher informed me about the event this evening. I asked where the closest Bonfire was and he gave me directions; I could walk there in one hour. As long as I walk, it’s possible to avoid the traffic jams, this is not a bad idea so I asked my husband and we decided to go.

After an hour walk, we arrived at the park and we saw the fair and some food stands there. We didn’t know where we should go for the fireworks, it was dark, but the amusement grounds were lit up so we went there first, followed the crowds toward the field and waited with them, then the fireworks started. Actually cold air is clearer than warm air and the fireworks in autumn were more beautiful than in summer.


Sometimes I recognize how hungry I was while I eat something, this time was analogous to that, during the fireworks I found I really enjoyed watching them, they were fantastic. After the fireworks, the bonfire started; the flames were big, magnificent, and the best part was it was warm enough. I was happy to be part of this event in Manchester.

The next day I started to read the British graphic novel “V for Vendetta” which is the original story of the Hollywood movie with the same title and again I noticed how much I was enjoying reading it. I read manga a lot when I was a kid, but I’ve never tried to read any English graphic novels except for English translations of Japanese manga. The story started on the fifth of November although it is fictitious; just after experiencing Bonfire Night I found it very interesting. At first, I struggled to read it because all of words were capitalised and I couldn’t recognize peoples’ names. If the characters’ names were SMITH or CAMERON, I could easily recognize them however some of their names were “DASCOMBE” and “ALMOND”. They were sometimes called by surnames or first names and it confused me. Now I’m getting used to capitalized words and strange names. I hope I can read them faster and finish reading the full story in English.