On 13 Nov 2010 at 2:04pm canoeman wrote:
I am a member of southover bs but have to say that i feel not too happy about the choice of tableaux victim, this year ( and last as it happens).
On 13 Nov 2010 at 3:02pm Newmania wrote:
Test
On 13 Nov 2010 at 3:05pm Newmania wrote:
Excuse me having some trouble posting , what was the Southover tab ?
On 13 Nov 2010 at 3:06pm Ivor wrote:
Take it up with Southover BS at the annual meeting.
Firstly this forum is not asociated with Southover so nothing said here will resolve anything.
Secondly all this post will do is stir things up and cause unneccessary arguements.
Thirdly and Finally, Join the tab team your self and then you can have say in what the tab theme is.
On 13 Nov 2010 at 3:07pm SHS wrote:
An excellent choice, helped to put Southover on the map. My congratulations to all involved and please, please, no silly backtracking or apologies in the face of criticism. Be bold, be famous, be successful!
On 13 Nov 2010 at 3:30pm Simon wrote:
What is so controversial about Clegg in a cannon ?
On 13 Nov 2010 at 3:51pm Newmania wrote:
Aha ...I see from the Express it was popular and successful local celebrity David something. To be fair he has offered an olive branch with these conciliatory remarks ..." I just feel angry and frustrated with those ignorant and reactionary members of my community who seem determined to show the world just how small minded the home counties can be ..." ..and to think people don`t like him.
Just as his hero, Mandela, ended apartheid, at great personal cost with a long dignified campaign, so David James Smith has ended nothing at all with a short fatuous campaign at some personal gain.
You wonder what his chat at the Pelham will be like ( 23rd of November ) I`m tempted to go along I must say.
How appalling it must be for his poor wife . God I pity her .
On 14 Nov 2010 at 7:12am Tabbist wrote:
I was appalled with Southover's Tab as well, but for entirely different reasons.......
As for their Enemy of Bonfire, well, least said the better I think.
On 14 Nov 2010 at 7:40am MC wrote:
Assuming we are talking about Clegg in a cannon, what was wrong with Southovers tab? Admittedly not up to the standards of the Cliffes Cameron puppeteer/Clegg puppet tab (but then whose was?), but it didn't seem that bad at all.
BTW: that's a truly superb photo of the Cliffe tableaux on the Lewes.co.uk home page. It deserves to have been on the home page of one of the broadsheets.
On 14 Nov 2010 at 9:21am Newmania wrote:
So would someone please clarify for me which is the tab and which is the " Enemy of bonfire " ?
On 14 Nov 2010 at 11:28pm Correct Me If I Am Wrong wrote:
The tab is the great big f-off sized controversial monument whereas the enemies of bonfire are usually small and relfect insignificant people who desperately try to sabotage bonfire and freedom of speech.
On 15 Nov 2010 at 12:36am The Tooth Fairy wrote:
Indeed, enemies are a Cliffe thing, chucking a barrel in the river is a Borough and Cliffe thing. Both seem to have been hijacked by IBS. Although they started out by chucking the barrel in the middle of the road. Maybe they should get some traditions of their own, although they do have a bell, yes, a bell. That'll catch on.
On 15 Nov 2010 at 8:34am Mr Forks wrote:
They have a bell end as well!
On 15 Nov 2010 at 9:55am Independent thinker wrote:
By the way, does anyone else find it amusing that the supposed proof that Lewes is a racist town comes from a bonfire society burning an effigy of a middle-aged white man?
On 15 Nov 2010 at 10:22am SBS member wrote:
Give it a rest Tooth Fairy, don't be too precious about your "traditions" (thousands of years old, presumably). I've got mates in all the societies and we have a laugh together rather than slag each other's society off or waste time with "my motto's older than yours" etc (sigh). Many SBS members thought CBS's tab was fantastic and said so. There's enough vitriol sprayed at all the societies from outside the town ("OMG they burnt an effigy", "OMG it was rather noisy" et al) - united we stand if you ask me.
On 15 Nov 2010 at 10:33am 'ere be monsters wrote:
SBS member, you have to be able to separate vitriol spraying from mickey taking.
On 15 Nov 2010 at 1:18pm SBS member wrote:
What exactly is the problem with the tab then canoeman? pretty poor complaining about something but giving no reason why! The SBS tab team worked extremely hard to produce their first towed tab, which for such a small team was a great effort! The team has only been going for three years so of it course cannot compare to the scale of Cliff's tab. I might remind you that very few members of each society actually step up and help out with the preparations for bonfire and those that do give up a lot of their spare time, so perhaps instead of moaning you might want to try it sometime!
On 15 Nov 2010 at 1:57pm MC wrote:
18 posts on and he's still not said what was wrong with it!
On 16 Nov 2010 at 1:48pm Another Southover Member wrote:
Whether you like SBS or not, we're the 3rd biggest society in Lewes and we're older than a LOT of other societies.
So Tabbist and/or Canoeman what is your actual complaint about the Value Added Tory tableau?
On 16 Nov 2010 at 5:45pm Continuous Service wrote:
Older than a lot of other societies? Well, taking years that SBS were actually celebrating (approx 40), no. Age since original inception and ignoring the years when they didn't exist, yes.
Always consider it a good year if the the only thing to talk about afterwards is bickering about history!
On 16 Nov 2010 at 6:01pm Mr Forks wrote:
If only IBS had some traditions of there own!
On 16 Nov 2010 at 8:58pm MC wrote:
Just a straw poll thang.
@ Another Southover Member. Did you ever live in London?
On 16 Nov 2010 at 10:52pm Mr Forks wrote:
Of course, what was i thinking, they have traditions, the tradition is they've all moved down from London and think that Bonfire can be done through osmosis. No originality IBS, none whatsoever!
On 17 Nov 2010 at 8:57am Another Southover Member wrote:
@MC Lived in Lewes my whole life...
On 17 Nov 2010 at 8:59am Another Southover Member wrote:
And what is IBS?
On 17 Nov 2010 at 9:09am me wrote:
Islington Bonfire society or Irritable bowel syndrome. Take your pick
On 17 Nov 2010 at 9:48am Hang on a moment wrote:
I am a Cliffe member (from Lewes), but I know there are plenty of other Cliffe members that are not just from London (DFL's) but from all over the country. This is also true of the other Lewes societies. So, what has it got to do with anything? Lewes bonfire is the biggest and best it is true, but you can't say that it is exclusively a Lewes thing. If you truly believe in the meaning and spirit of bonfire, you would want to encourage it to spread to as many people as possible, and certainly not get involved in pathetic inter society squabbling. Who cares how long anyone has been doing it. Nobody in any society can have been doing it for longer than their own lifetime.It is what is happening now that counts, and that it continues being done is the important thing.
On 17 Nov 2010 at 9:50am Another Southover Member wrote:
So why are SBS being called Islington?
On 17 Nov 2010 at 10:18am MC wrote:
My substantial straw poll indicates that Southover Bonfire Society do not deserve the alternative title Islington Bonfire Society.
Squabbling is bad. Competition can be good though. I think there should be a competition for the best tableaux. Can't quite see how this could be arranged (and it's probably impossible but could each tab be paraded past the same spot in town?), or who should judge it (my vote would be for Arthur Brown) but it'd be very enjoyable and perhaps lead to more people seeing all the tabs. Might get some well-deserved publicity too. This this years tabs were all stunning and their creators should receive wider recognition for their outstanding work. It is such a shame that the tabs are so short lived and so few people (in the scheme of things) get to see them.
On 17 Nov 2010 at 10:47am pandemonia wrote:
I'm sick of the constant bickering and whinging about other societies because it doesn't amount to healthy rivalry.
However, I would respectfully suggest that "well deserved publicity" may be unnecessary, not matter how splendid the respective tableaux. I don't go along with the tired old view that says we must pretend Lewes Bonfire exists only in the mind of the participants and that the event could be sustainable with a total absence of spectators. This glorious state of affairs might have been achievable once upon a time but nowadays, it'd most likely lead to the most wonderful day of the year in Lewes being reduced to some sort of Community Abomination with a tidy little "parade", added sparklers and a "Join Up the Dots Enemy of Bonfire" Competition for the Littlies. All to be judged before the Mayor puts the first sparkler to a tiny little "organic" bonfire in the car park at the back of the Town Hall.
But equally, we should pay respects to all those tab teams. It's just that we may not need to do so in order to publicise Lewes Bonfire Night.
Oh, and while not a member, "Advance Southover!". Bonfire is all the better for your reformation.
On 17 Nov 2010 at 11:57am 'ere be monsters wrote:
Don't kid yourself pande', what do the crowd give to the 5th? The crowds just get in the way.
On 17 Nov 2010 at 11:58am 'ere be monsters wrote:
And by crowds I mean the hordes of day trippers.
On 17 Nov 2010 at 12:23pm Mr Forks wrote:
We dont need a tab competition, we all know who does the best tab year in year out!
On 17 Nov 2010 at 1:10pm pandemonia wrote:
I didn't suggest the crowd gave anything to the 5th in terms of assistance (although it is hardly an event that you want direct audience participation in. It doesn't need 40,000 people getting in the way of it either. But what I am saying is that the sustainability of the event in its present form relies, to some extent, on having at least some spectators - although I recognise that this is not an opinion that will receive support from some Bonfire quarters.
On 17 Nov 2010 at 3:54pm 'ere be monsters wrote:
You said it was a tired old view.
So listen to those who know then Pande'.
On 17 Nov 2010 at 3:59pm pandemonia wrote:
Very droll.
On 19 Nov 2010 at 8:37am Another Southover Member wrote:
Thanks for the encouragement @Pandemonia
May I remind everyone that Neville bonfire built tabs for 30 years before they towed one. Our rapid expansion and recent popularity in terms of new members meant that we could tow in our THIRD year of Tab Building. The team is small but we are building our skill base slowly, and one day we'll reach the skill we see in the other society's tableaus. I personally have enormous respect for all the Tab teams in every society. If you're criticising anyone, you're opinion really ain't valid until you give up 2-3 months worth of weekends working 9 till 5 on your society tab. Then people might listen to you.
On 20 Nov 2010 at 6:30pm teaboy wrote:
Personally I think SBS tabs will rapidly improve. It'll be a work in progress for the next 10 years, but once the knowledge and skills are in place (parly from trial and error) then things will be great. Get the right people in charge and there'll be little stopping you.
Regarding crowds on the 5th generally I don't notice them from processions - I'm too busy Bonfiring! However, to say that crowds are needed to maintain the night only shows that you have an early night - the Last is ALWAYS the best part of the night.