Bonfire Night in Welston went off with more bang than anyone expected.

Saturday 8th November saw the good people of Welston gather in the market square for our annual Bonfire Night celebration — that glorious British excuse to stand in the cold, eat something charred, and marvel at explosions.

As tradition dictates, the fireworks were launched from around the ruins of Cropper Castle, which has not looked so lively since the last time it was besieged. The Welston Allstars struck up a fine set of traditional jazz until half-past eight, when the clarinettist and banjo player announced they were due back at Cosy Days before lights out. (Their rendition of When the Saints Go Marching In was, fittingly, the finale.)

Dave Mullen Butchers kept the crowd fed and smoky with his now-famous Fiery Rocket Ribs — sold out within thirty minutes — and the debut of his Catherine Wheel Bangers, which proved dangerously moreish with mustard and caramelised onions inside Terry Rumsford’s sourdough bun. Dave has promised slow-roast pork shoulder next year, should the town’s arteries hold up that long.

While baker Terry Rumsford was away collecting a Best Artisanal Bread award for his sourdough (well deserved, Terry!), he still managed to feed us from afar: vast trays of homemade ginger cake and pale-ale treacle tart appeared in his stead, enough to satisfy even my sweet tooth.

Hot chocolate — three kinds, no less — flowed thanks to Susan Crow and Mina Goodacre: mint choc, orange choc, and the adults-only salted-caramel-rum version that kept spirits toasty until ten o’clock, when the final sparkler fizzled out and the town, reluctantly, went home.

A heartfelt thank-you to the Town Council for another spectacular display. While Welston may not rival London’s fireworks, we had proper jazz, award-winning buns, and neighbours who don’t push or shove.