My pal Jim is an ardent anarcho-catholic, and a vegan to boot, and he strongly disapproves of Bonfire Night which is, as he sees it, the celebration of the torture and murder of a catholic revolutionary, and the oppression of catholics in general.

On the other hand, I see it is a fairly benign celebration of freedom from religious intolerance and the rule of theocrats.

I’ve never been a fan of zealots, especially those who adhere to the desert religions, and so for me, every firework, every bonfire, every child holding a sparkler, confirms that the priests are not in charge.

But I can see a revival in intolerance coming. The hippies, having done their hippy fucking damage, are going to retire, and that leaves the field open for the fundamentalists.

It’s going to get interesting.