Major rant warning!

It's another one of those posts - where I get to vent my spleen about something or someone that I really despise.

Today's fascinating topic is fireworks. I know, they're pretty and make everyone ooohh and aahhh at their magnificence but come on! They're loud and obtrusive and they scare my animals. I hate fireworks! And it's not a new thing either. Even as a child I hated the loud bangs that they produced and even more importantly, I hated the way all of our animals would cower in terror waiting for the next big blast.

This is of course the worst time of year for fireworks and even though November hasn't even arrived yet, the fireworks have. This evening the manor house which is right in the middle of the village decided to host a fireworks display. None of the residents of the village were warned (unless it was only us that didn't receive the memo) and before we knew what was happening, the loud bangs began. Fortunately our cats are still getting used to the new surroundings to they aren't allowed outside yet because they immediately scattered wide eyed and terrified to the darkest spots that they could find.

Even more astonishing is the fact that the boarding kennel for cats shares the same ground as the manor house. All I can say is thank god we had already fetched our two and brought them home because I cannot begin to imagine how horrible that experience would have been for them.

Of course many people believe that fireworks are a celebration and a right that they are entitled too but I wonder how many of them consider all the wild animals that are severely affected by it.

It saddens me that we as a society welcome this kind of intrusion on our environment, but I guess it's hardly surprising given the lack of empathy that we have for each other.

I've already signed all the petitions that I can find and I will continue to do so until someone realises that fireworks really aren't worth the paper they're wrapped in.

VP