Recently, Abridge Fireworks night, one of many local events taking place on the 5th of November to Commemorate the Gunpowder Plot, absolutely shattered expectations and had an astounding turnout, speculated by the event runners to be close to 10,000. This shock to the many working or helping out at the event were blown away by the sheer amount of people arriving to not just the field overlooked by the village hall where the bonfire, fireworks and food stalls were located, but the village itself. Before long, the free parking had been used up by early arrivals around 4pm, almost 2 hours before the actual lighting of the bonfire, this in turn had a dramatic domino effect causing the surrounding areas to be mobbed with road vehicles. Roads such as Ongar Road, Hoe Lane and Abridge Road were particularly effected. Traffic jams became regular on the roads around the village spreading at times almost as far as Theydon Bois. Not just the area around the event was affected by this mass turnout however, the volunteer’s mid-way through the night ran out of beverages and food such as crisps and burgers. Leaving many who had paid for their tickets seemingly un-satisfied.

However, when interviewing Lambourne Primary School PTA member and Receptionist Paula Gordine who volunteered to help at the event, I heard a different side to the apparent Chaos. I had asked:

“What affect will tonight have on the community and more importantly the local schools?”

“Well that’s a great question, despite what the event looks like on the surface, especially with us running out of resources like food and drink, this will positively impact the community in lots of ways. This influx of money will allow us to develop our children’s school environment and more importantly the area around them.”

So, in conclusion, with the information from my interview it appeared that although the events variables such as the huge turnout, and thus lack of resources and parking, causing a lack of quality at the bonfire night itself actually had a reversed positive effect by the end. Allowing for the local community to help further their area and increase quality in schools, such as Lambourne Primary and Stapleford Abbots.

By Teddy Chamberlain, Debden Park High School