We had an exchange on Bill Crider's blog on November 5 about the phrase "a penny for the guy." November 5 is Guy Fawkes night in England, which celebrated the uncovering of Fawkes's plan to blow up parliament with gunpowder. When I was a child in England, we'd still make guys (scarecrows) in early November and go door-to-door asking "a penny for the guy." Then we'd take our pennies and go but fireworks to set off on Guy Fawkes Night, which was a great night for bonfires and fireworks. I knew there was an Elliott poem that started with "a penny for the old guy," but couldn't remember which one--naturally, Bill knew it immediately. Incidentally, the whole Guy Fawkes traditional--which lasted over 350 years--has now evaporated from British culture as if it never was.
Thank you, for this one. T.S. Eliot remains one of my favorites. I suppose that says a lot about my frame of mind.
ReplyDeleteA continuing inspiration.
ReplyDeleteWe had an exchange on Bill Crider's blog on November 5 about the phrase "a penny for the guy." November 5 is Guy Fawkes night in England, which celebrated the uncovering of Fawkes's plan to blow up parliament with gunpowder. When I was a child in England, we'd still make guys (scarecrows) in early November and go door-to-door asking "a penny for the guy." Then we'd take our pennies and go but fireworks to set off on Guy Fawkes Night, which was a great night for bonfires and fireworks. I knew there was an Elliott poem that started with "a penny for the old guy," but couldn't remember which one--naturally, Bill knew it immediately. Incidentally, the whole Guy Fawkes traditional--which lasted over 350 years--has now evaporated from British culture as if it never was.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the trip down memory lane.
Deb
When I was there for a year in the nineties, it was still celebrated a bit. We went to a bonfire celebration in York--on that big hill.
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