Smoke and Bonfire

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November", yadda, yadda, yadda, you know the rest. We are Bonfire Night, or Guy Fawkes Night, the quintessential British November celebration. A celebration I don't really celebrate, for all the years I have been here. Like last year, I did not go and see the fireworks. I saw some fireworks, they were bursting here and there as soon as the sun fell down, loud and shiny and smelling of smoke. I saw them at the train stations, I saw them walking home. I heard them even more. But what strikes me every time is the smell of smoke. It is also what I prefer of Bonfire Night: the smell of smoke in the cold November night. I don't know why.