Whizzbangs

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It's San Juan tonight, the celebration of Midsummers Day. In Alicante and, apparently, round these here parts too the way to celebrate is to light bonfires and set off fireworks. In Spain fireworks aren't usually Catherine wheels, volcanoes and traffic lights - they're things that go bang (petardos) and things that go high and then bang (cohetes.)

We've just been to the flicks and walking home the streets are exploding. In every garden, park and bit of waste ground there are youngsters, sometimes supervised by their parents, setting off bangers. On the bigger bits of waste ground there are bonfires. The disregard for safety is either refreshing or outright stupidity depending on your point of view.

It all got a bit busier around midnight and the participants became older teens and young adults. As I sit here typing, there are lots of explosions coming from every direction but most noticeably from the waste ground where I habitually park my car. The motor is now in a more official and less flamable car parking area.

It's very much like the bonfire nights of my youth but without the charred spuds and tooth breaking toffee.

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