Bonfire Night At Castlecoote Lodge

We celebrated our Inaugural BONFIRE night at Castlecoote lodge on Solitice. Music  was by 'top level and a up and coming young singer Derek Campbell joined us for a few songs'. The bonfire was lit at Sunset. It's a great tradition in Castlecoote- In times gone by, as the flames and sparks shot up, loud cheers would arise from the crowd, horns were blown and some people beat on tin cans. The musicians struck up and the young men asked their partners to dance. In-between sets, songs were sung, storys were told, and soloists - musician or dancer - demonstrated their talents. By now the fire would be well ablaze. People leapt through the flames for luck in a new venture, or marriage, when trying for a baby, for good health and for self-purification. Farmers leapt high so their crops would grow tall. In many places, a young woman and man would join hands and jump together. Often, this was nothing more than a mere flirtation, but onlookers took it for granted that there was some intention of marriage between the pair. Some observers would even go as far as to predicting the outcome of such a union by the way the flames flickered as the couple jumped!