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It's that time of year again, where fireworks are set off in our neighbourhoods, at all hours of the day and night.
Yes these fireworks are up for sale again already, and its pretty much a free-for-all where teenage yobs are concerned. It doesn't take much for them to get hold of rockets, bangers, roman candles, or whatever else they want, nor does anybody seem able to stop them exploding these things in quiet suburban roads, in litter bins, dog mess bins, under people's cars, in people's gardens, or wherever else may amuse them.
I personally don't mind if these young idiots get their arms or faces blown off, but can they please do it somewhere else, far away from my house. I don't want to hear the drunken howls of laughter and/or pain on my estate at 2am. I dont want to awake to the sound of fireworks near my bedroom window, or the relentless Bang! Whoosh! Fizzzzz which starts the moment the sun goes down, and finishes anywhere between 3am and 4am.
I wouldn't mind so much if it were just Guy Fawkes Night. But it's not. The "explosions-for-entertainment" season begins in early October and doesn't let up until late January. This "silly season" is fast becoming a total waste of money, limbs, skin, and emergency services.
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If fireworks were invented today, they'd be banned...
If fireworks were invented today, they'd be banned, or at least tightly licensed. I mean, think about it: Dangerous explosives packed in brightly coloured cardboard, marketed toward children, and flogged over the counter at Tescos. Surely this cannot be right? Common sense dictates that fireworks - which are explosives - ought to be subject to very strict regulation and licensing. They should be sold only to people who have a licence. After all, just because the explosives are wrapped in brightly coloured packaging, doesn't make them any less dangerous, does it?
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I'm no killjoy and I love organised firework displays, but the availability of these things for purchase by the ASBO generation is a recipe for disaster at worst, or a downright nuissance at best.
All I ask is that we have some common sense here. Restrict sales to adults with liscnse to purchase fireworks. Stop marketing the fireworks at young buyers, and stop selling them over the counter in high street shops and supermarkets. It seems easier for a kid to get hold of a box of fireworks than a pack of cigarettes. Both are potentially fatal, but at least the cigarettes are quiet.
It's strange how our Nanny State seems determined to stop us drinking or smoking, yet couldn't care less about children going out into their neighbourhoods at night and setting off fireworks.
Regulate firework sales now! Make the buyer require a licence, not just the seller! Bring peace and safety to our streets on dark autumn nights.
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