What a show!

No sooner I had put my head on the pillow after the Thank You party the night before, than it was time to get up again and start helping to build the bonfire for the 25th birthday celebrations of the Stone Bonfire and Firework display. No rest for the wicked!

Three vehicles with trailers and a total of eight volunteers spent all of the available daylight hours on the Friday collecting timber and taking it down to Westbridge Park. There, the timber joined the two artic trailer loads of pallets that the Army Cadets were using to build the most amazing bonfire. I've watched Dominic build bonfires before but it was obvious that this was going to something very special when he actually measured the size of the fire with a tape measure!

The following day the reason became obvious. The whole of the front of the bonfire was covered with pre-prepared pieces of cardboard painted to create the biggest birthday cake ever seen in Stone - complete with candles and the number '25'.

Charlie Purton and his crew also had an air of secrecy about them when asked about the fireworks!

The amazing thing about Stone Bonfire and Fireworks is the effortless way the show comes together. Fencing, lighting stands, toilets, marshals, concessions, etc  - everyone knows what is needed and quietly gets on with the job.

And then it all happened. The fire was lit at 7.30 and the fireworks half an hour later - and what a show we had! I am in no doubt that it was the best I've ever seen - and judging by the many comments I've seen and heard since, a lot of people agree with me.

The following day involved tidying up but by 10 o'clock football teams were playing on the pitch and you'd have been hard pressed to have even known over five thousand people had been there the night before!

Which brings me to the most satisfying part of the story! The Treasurer has now confirmed that the turnout was a record !  We thought we did well last year - but we even beaten those figures! So in a couple of weeks time, the profit will be distributed amongst the several groups and organisation who played a part in organising the event - after we have set aside a sum to cover the costs of next year's event. Oh yes, we'll be doing it all over again next November!!