Chumping

[Chrism]

I remember as a kid we used to make a guy and it lived in an old wheelbarrow for a couple of weeks. We would spend most early evenings at the main door of the Western bingo in Armley. Then when everyone was in we'd go round most of the pubs, Malt Shovel, Nelson, Golden Lion, Rose & Crown then back to the bingo hall in case we'd get a share of anyone's winnings. We'd nearly always have a small fortune for fireworks from Barkers on Town Street (you could buy them at any age then), and we nearly always saved them for bonfire night. Why waste them before and have none for the night. We also had a big bonfire up Mistress Lane on the land where Armley Manor is now, and we would have lads guarding it in case it got raided overnight or, god forbid, if it got burned down. At this time, the early 70's, all the houses on Ley lane and the Parliaments etc etc etc were being demolished so there was plenty of doors and floorboards for the taking. The kids today don't know what fun they're missing.

[tinks]

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... pFollowing an email conversation with a friend about what to do tonight ( I had forgotten it was Bonfire Night, my son who is 11 isnt really interested in it) It does seem Bonfire Night has fallen by the wayside in the past few years.I rememeber as we had an end house with a corner garden, our was the one that was used in the street for a bit of a communal party. Me and my mates would go looking for wood and neighbours would keep stuff back to burn on the night, they would all bring food, home brew and chip in for the fireworks (safely stowed in the Rovers bsicuit tin). My mum would have soup on the hob, potatoes in the oven and all the dad's would stand round hmmming and arrrring the best way to postion the Catherine Wheel so it wouldnt fly off into next doors garden! It had a real family feel to it..Sometimes we would go to East End Park and I'd always win a goldfish which always pegged it before Xmas...This was'nt all that many years ago (I am 36), I wouldnt take my son to Roundhay or East End, its too busy, looks like the local pub for a retro firewrk display and a winter Pimms!

[chameleon]

' my son who is 11 isnt really interested in it) It does seem Bonfire Night has fallen by the wayside in the past few years.'I think that as has been said above tinks, much of the fun was in the preparation for days or weeks beforehand (not forgetting raiding parties' rather than the historical significance.So much emphasis is placed on organised bonfires these days and firework displays happening here there and everywhere during the year, it's nothing special to todays generation. How ever did we all survive not being roasted alive in the days before organised fires with their 200m exclusion zones......

[buffaloskinner]

I remember Bonfire Night like Chrism, we used to 2-3 weeks beforehand doing all the humping work.Yes and we never let the fireworks off beforehand (well maybe a couple of penny bangers). Hell you could get loads for 2/6p.

[chameleon]

jim wrote: Hi Chameleon. I understand and accept your point, but the main drift of my post was about when Bonfire Night, and it's attendant junketings, should be celebrated.     I thought I was agreeing with you Jim, that was my intention anyway.And if it rained on 'the night', it was over to the local garage for half a gallon of Esso Blue to get things going

[jim]

Sorry Chameleon. I was not indicating conflict/disagreement, just drawing a distinction between the two topics of my post - on when bonfire night should be celebrated, and gratuitous letting off of pyrotechnics. Withdraws in confusion, head down.

[Bert]

Leeds Hippo wrote: With it being November the 5th - do kids still go "chumping" for wood for the bonfires anymore? I know when I was a kid there was a lot of waste ground and wood where it would be the tradition several weeks before bonfire night to collect wood (and anything else that would burn). We had to keep a constant watch incase neighbouring "gangs" would try to steal our wood. Often we would build dens near the bonfire and roast potatoes by candle light.Also didn't see many mischievous kids last night though it was blowing a gale. Your memories of chumping and having to mount round-the-clock guards on the wood collected are exactly the same as mine Leeds Hippo. Ditto Mischief Night (which consisted partly of knocking on doors and running away, and partly of carrying out interesting explosive experiments with fireworks). Where I lived in Poole Square in Crossgates we had the advantage of being just a few yards away from Primrose Valley through the Poole Square ginnell so we could have our street bonfire there. Sad to have to confess with some shame too that that also meant that our chumping included a lot of hacking of big branches off splendid live trees in the Valley, not just collecting dead wood. The big difference between then and now was that it was almost all organised and executed by us kids, with the adults just providing us with a bit of extra cash to buy our own fireworks to let off, and potatoes and apples to bake in the fire, and, if we were lucky, one of our Mams might knock up a great slab of parkin (remember that?) for us to munch as well. To the extent that there was any adult supervision on the night it tended to be provided more by elder brothers than by parents. Since then we have passed through a phase where it was all done by the parents for the kids to watch, and are now entering a phase where it's all done by parish and town councils or Guy Fawkes societies throwing truck loads of cash at giant, irritatingly loud and long professional firework displays night after night for up to a week either side of 5 November with the kids just gawping at it all without even being allowed to so much as hold a sparkler, and with our dogs getting hardly a single night free from terrified barking for a fortnight.I thank the Lord I had my childhood in the 50s, not in the noughties.

[kango]

Bert wrote: Leeds Hippo wrote: With it being November the 5th - do kids still go "chumping" for wood for the bonfires anymore? I know when I was a kid there was a lot of waste ground and wood where it would be the tradition several weeks before bonfire night to collect wood (and anything else that would burn). We had to keep a constant watch incase neighbouring "gangs" would try to steal our wood. Often we would build dens near the bonfire and roast potatoes by candle light.Also didn't see many mischievous kids last night though it was blowing a gale. Your memories of chumping and having to mount round-the-clock guards on the wood collected are exactly the same as mine Leeds Hippo. Ditto Mischief Night (which consisted partly of knocking on doors and running away, and partly of carrying out interesting explosive experiments with fireworks). Where I lived in Poole Square in Crossgates we had the advantage of being just a few yards away from Primrose Valley through the Poole Square ginnell so we could have our street bonfire there. Sad to have to confess with some shame too that that also meant that our chumping included a lot of hacking of big branches off splendid live trees in the Valley, not just collecting dead wood. The big difference between then and now was that it was almost all organised and executed by us kids, with the adults just providing us with a bit of extra cash to buy our own fireworks to let off, and potatoes and apples to bake in the fire, and, if we were lucky, one of our Mams might knock up a great slab of parkin (remember that?) for us to munch as well. To the extent that there was any adult supervision on the night it tended to be provided more by elder brothers than by parents. Since then we have passed through a phase where it was all done by the parents for the kids to watch, and are now entering a phase where it's all done by parish and town councils or Guy Fawkes societies throwing truck loads of cash at giant, irritatingly loud and long professional firework displays night after night for up to a week either side of 5 November with the kids just gawping at it all without even being allowed to so much as hold a sparkler, and with our dogs getting hardly a single night free from terrified barking for a fortnight.I thank the Lord I had my childhood in the 50s, not in the noughties. Well said that man!!I value every bump bruise burn scar and splintered finger I got on Bonfire night as a kid. Now I just hide behind the settee whilst two grands worth of ordnance batters Me into helpless submission!!!

[yorkiesknob]

Chumping and raiding was the in thing for me in the early 60s.Great times as a kid thats for sure. A few lasting thoughts still hover around my head at this time of yearKnocking on every ones door asking for any old wood.Hiding your wood in your gang members yard until close to Nov 5,then stacking it up in the street . Guarded 24/7 to ward off any raiders.Building dens with old doors etc.Bonfire toffee ,toffee apples and parkin on the night.All the parents making sure all fireworks were in a tin or tight fitting cardboard box.Sky rockets sent up from milk bottlesMy old man putting on the fire his years collection of scrap copperwire , to burn off the plastic sheathing. No idea why he did this at the time and always got a few bob for helping him next morning dragging out the burnt copper wire out and carrying it down in a wheelbarrow to our house. I now know why of course.Putting spuds in the coals the next morning, possisble toxic coals at that. No alfoil in them days ,just staight into the coals.Looking for fireworks that didn't go off the night before and then trying to get them to go again.Trying to keep the fire going for a couple of days at least, then havint to clean up the ashes off the cobbles.Great days indeed, Burley was a great place to grow up and I look back with pleasure at my youth with great memories and pride of being a Burley Boy.

[Trojan]

We used to do all the above in Morley. But the thing that sticks in my mind is towards the end of the long August holiday, bored with everything, looking for something to do somebody would say, "why don't we start chumping" - and we would.The other activity in this period was blackberrying, but in those days at the end of August there were very few ripe ones - there are now. Climate change?