Fireworks. An invention first unintentionally discovered in 200 AD in China when bamboo was thrown on a fire and yet again in 800 AD when a foolhardy alchemist combined sulphur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate together in an attempt to find internal life. The concoction exploded into what we now call fireworks. An invention born of brilliance, risk and high hopes seems a fitting thing to unleash into the skies above Loughborough campus, and the display was certainly eye catching.
The event opened at 5:30, and though we were welcomed by rather a lot of rain, we didn’t let it dampen our spirits. We sheltered in the student union and soon the rain cleared just in time to get food and drinks before the big display. Armed with hot chocolate to warm our frozen hands, we ventured out into the familiar grassy ground around the fountain. At night, with the Hazlerigg building lit up in neon pinks and purples, people packed excitedly around us and the distant sounds of the carnival behind us, it felt a world away from Loughborough campus. In that moment I was years away from my time at university, holding my dad’s hand as I impatiently awaited the first spark. The first big bang. It seemed all it took was fair games and fireworks to make me a kid again.
The field fell into a hush as the music started and off the first one went. They soared up and exploded across the black canvas of sky in a flash of vivid colours and bright lights, dancing through the smoky air to a specially curated soundtrack. It certainly exceeded my expectations: there were silent ones that shot up like flares; ones that fizzled and popped like sugar over Rice Krispies and it ended with large gold ones that seemed to fill the whole sky. But the night didn’t end after the display. Next, we braved the rides. First, the Waltzers and once we’d been spun until we couldn’t walk straight, we stumbled our way through an assault course. Predictably, it did not go well and the videos of our comical failings were all over the group chat within seconds. I’m sure I will not be living down a particularly pathetic tumble I had while running in a wooden hamster wheel. Overall, it was a night to remember. One of laughs, awed looks and good company…and I brought home a fluffy friend from hook a duck to remember it by.
Photography by James Anderson-Barker
