Bonfire Night

I think one of the most interesting bonfire nights I've ever enjoyed was when a short film I had made was shown at the Chateaux Gateaux in Bridge Street.

Before the films were shown we wandered onto the roof of the building, up a winding, derelict set of stairs which had missing handrails, missing steps and a dead pigeon. The roof itself also didn't have a protective handrail around the edge which, being a clumsy individual, did make me very uneasy. The view however was great and we also enjoyed the accompaniment of a rather odd but enthusiastic acoustic band as well.

The last two years I have again opted out of actually travelling to one of the organised events and instead have just sat on the roof of my flat which gives a great 360 degree view of the city. Last year, it was pretty freezing, but was livened up by my neighbours joining me on the roof to launch their own rockets.

Its a very uneasy feeling watching rockets explode around the city. It feels like a pretty war zone as clouds of smoke start swirling into the sky and eventually the city disappears in a cloud of dust. Not sure what I'll do this year. I've got the night class on that night so might miss the whole thing, though I'm sure I'll see some explosions over the weekend.

Its strange that once a year, everyone in the country goes crazy buying live gunpowder, setting fires all around the city and letting off controlled explosions? We are all mental.

An alternative option from going along to the big show at Glasgow Green this year is to go to the Glasgow and West of Scotland Green Party's, "alternative bonfire night" at The Pandora on Victoria Road. Its a fund raising event which will include a raffle, a quiz, seasonal food and prizes. It starts at 8pm and runs until 11pm. Entrance is £3 or £5 for couples.

Do other political parties do the same thing? Do they share out events across the year - labour get valentines day, the tories get pancake day?

What other bonfire night parties are going on? Any suggestions?