Nice to meet you, Guy Fawkes!

If you can't laugh at yourself...

Tomorrow is Guy Fawkes day in England.  In 1605, he was involved in the failed attempt to assassinate King James I to return a Catholic to the monarchy...or so they say.  The plotters wanted to blow up Parliament and Fawkes was placed in charge of guarding the gunpowder.  Authorities got wind of the plot and Fawkes was captured and interrogated but jumped to his death before hanging.  Every Nov 5, citizens commemorate the Gunpowder Plot with bonfires and/or fireworks!  Often a likeness of Fawkes is burned in effigy.

I know a lot about Guy Fawkes now, but on my first visit to London I was unaware of this historical figure.  Blame it on my history education which went heavy on British citizens coming to Jamestown and Plymouth aboard Ships named Susan Constant and Mayflower, and those Redcoats of the Revolution.

So one night on our London vacation, my friend and I were visiting with some friends of friends who lived in London.  They took us to many fine establishments over the course of the evening and a good time was had by all:)  But before going out, we all met up at one of the flats where we were introduced to all the young men and women, one with the name of 'Guy Fawkes'.

It wasn't til the next afternoon, on a tour of Parliament, that we heard a little story about a man named Guy Fawkes!  Imagine our faces as we heard the story told by our guide.  I can't remember if I first laughed or cursed:)  (Think of it as if you told some visitor to the US that your name was Benedict Arnold and they went around all night calling you 'Benedict' or 'Ben Arnold'...and you laughed)

The jig was up -- we had been had:)  I remember frantically trying to recall how many times I had referred to that 'guy' as Guy.  Always happy to provide a good laugh -- the expense was minimal! 

So every November 5, I toast not to Guy Fawkes but to the prank that we were cast in!