07 Nov 2023
Deborah Heath is all “Oohs!” and “Aahs!” at the first Wheatfields fireworks event…
On Bonfire Night itself, November 5, the Wheatfields/Sandringham playground and field were positively buzzing with over 2,000 attendees from the school and wider community.
Queues snaked from the food stalls and no wonder because local burger joint The Meeting Room (a sponsor of the event) was doing the catering! I was pleased to see that they had vegan and halal options on offer. Sadly, we arrived too late to get our orders in but this didn’t impact on our enjoyment of the event.
There were the obligatory glow sticks and hoops on sale for the children and a well-stocked bar including some impressive beers. The only convenience that was lacking at the event were toilets for adults but I am told this is under consideration for next year which is great news.
The event was priced sensibly including a family ticket for £21 which is in line with other local displays. All in all, the night was off to a great start.
The fireworks themselves started pretty promptly and were very well-planned with a pleasing symmetricity. I particularly liked the golden fizzy ones resembling airborne Catherine wheels – I hadn’t seen these before and appreciated their playfulness.
By contrast, my 44-year-old companion who is a child at heart loved the far-reaching coloured fans with the very loud bangs! The fireworks were accompanied by some well-chosen music although I would have liked to hear “Fireflies” by Owl City for some of the early darting lights.
Now, when I was a nipper, we didn’t have music with fireworks at all. In fact, we had to provide our own soundtrack of “Oohs” and “Aahs” but perhaps that was because I grew up in Watford while 10 miles away St Albans had been merrily using music for decades!
I’m still not completely convinced by the idea because as a musician it upsets my internal metronome when the “bangs” are not on the beat. There was a section with “We Will Rock You” which was almost there though and I appreciated this. The music was of a good range appealing to the parents and children, including “Green, Green Grass” and the fabulous finish of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
As a former PTA committee member for my own school, I stand in awe of Friends of Wheatfields Infants for the mind-blowing amount of work that must have gone into this event. This would involve drink and music licensing, health and safety, food organisation and publicity. They also managed to get some high-level sponsorship from local businesses.
With such large numbers of attendees, their hard work certainly paid off and I sincerely hope they made a massive profit for the school. It was absolutely lovely to be amongst such a large group of happy families and local people.
Unlike the main event in town, there was no chance of falling in to a lake or upsetting the water-dwelling birds. Yes, fireworks are not good news for wildlife and this is why I don’t usually attend such events but the Wheatfields Infants Firework Extravaganza was extremely enjoyable and left me with a warm glow despite there being no actual bonfire (probably sensible from a health and safety point of view.).
This was a well-planned and well-delivered evening and I hope it will be the first of many firework displays for the school. I give them a heartfelt thank you and huge congratulations for organising such a wholesome community event.
