I have to say that it is a LOT quieter round here since the new legislation came in.
It is almost bearable, relatively speaking of course, but I will reserve judgement until the weeks after Nov 5th.
If any of you really must buy fireworks for your own use then please visit the DTI website and readup. I don't care how old you are and how much you think you know it all, it does not harm to have a refresher in safety and the law.
Main site:-
http://www.dti.gov.uk/fireworks/
Download Link to the "fireworks toolkit" PDF:-
http://www.dti.gov.uk/fireworks/download/toolkit.pdf
Here are some main points ...
It is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to posess fireworks in a public place.
It is illegal to sell fireworks to anyone under 18 (including sparklers).
It is illegal to sell caps, partypoppers etc to anyone under 16.
It is illegal to sell bangers, air bombs and mini-rockets.
It is illegal for retailers to split packs of fireworks to sell individually.
It is illegal to sell from a place not licensed or registered with the local. authority and fire service (selling from vans is illegal).
Don't give sparklers to under 5s.
It is illegal to set off fireworks in a public place (meaning any place you do not own/rent or have express permission to use).
Never use illegally imported fireworks (legal fireworks are labeled with the BS7114 standard).
It is illegal to set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am except in the following circumstances....
Nov 5th ** UNTIL MIDNIGHT**
New Years Eve **1am the following day**
Chinese New Year (Jan 29th 2006) **1am the following day**
Diwali (from Tues Nov 1st 2005 for 5 days) **1am the following day**
If you are having a big firework party with booze then refrain from letting drunk idiots handle any fireworks.
Most firework injuries are eyes, face and hands. Please don't become another tragic statistic. Please download and read the DTI firework info.
Consider giving the money you would normally spend on fireworks to charity.
Goodnight (I say as several whistles and bangs just went off outside about 8 minutes ago at 1:10am).