Rye Bonfire Society once again beat the weather to hold a well attended and successful event with positive comments and congratulations flooding in from far and wide, despite the ground being completely sodden the day before with standing water and high winds demolishing the pile of pallets soon after it was erected.
The bonfire (above) was decorated with an effigy and a slogan. Last year it was decorated with poppies which brought some reactions . You may have your own comments to make this year.
Despite crowds being slightly down on last year due to the inclement weather, Rye Bonfire Society’s bucket collectors raised over £4,500 towards the £10,000 which is needed each year to stage the show which is simply fantastic! This years Rye Fawkes was Jim Hollands of Rye’s Own and Rye Wheelers.
The top single bucket collectors were Bill Wickens with £332.74 and Sham with £323.02, and for those who had two buckets to carry about – Penny with £303.64 and Jimper with £300.94. A great effort by all.
Rye Bonfire Society would also like to thank the following nations for their donations – Iraq, Brazil, Hong Kong, USA, Sri Lanka, Canada, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Latvia, India, Mexico, Singapore, Algiers, Argentina, Malaysia, New Zealand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the NHS for a hearing aid battery.
Once all the bills have been settled, Rye Bonfire Society sets aside funds to be awarded to help local groups and organisations at an award ceremony to be held in the spring.
The date for next year’s bonfire is scheduled for Saturday November 12.
Comments such as “what a pity bonfires are not like they were traditionally, when people used to gather wood for weeks beforehand” and “it was a real community project in those days” were rebutted by drawing attention to the number of bonfires that got set alight well before the actual bonfire night.
Photo:Willie Wickens. Slideshow: Ray Prewer