REPORT FIVE: DEAN CLOUGH MILLS BIRTHDAY BLAST!!!
Another day another display this time a surprise 40th birthday display.
This one was quite different for me as it was to be set up and fired from the top of a multistory car park over looking a posh restaurant in Dean Clough Mills Halifax.
We arrived and had to sneak around so the guest of honour didn’t know what we were up to. The shell racks were the first to be unloaded and set up around 100 shells ranging from 3″ up to 6″ with cylindrical multi breaks as well as peanut shells. Whilst the racks were secured me and Pete got on with the candle racks and cakes the usual blockbusters were being used a plenty and this time I brought 3 titanium thunder candles along for the guys to try out, we had a few large cakes dragons eggs (fantastic) thunder rain (similar to happy stars) and a massive crackling crossette cake plus a few smaller ones.
We had some lance work to set up over the edge of the car park as well as a waterfall some Bengal flares and a 3lb gerb (this thing was a monster in action).
Prior to firing we found a couple of cars that were where they shouldn’t have been so they were covered with sheets to stop them getting covered in bits of card board but come firing time they had gone and one cheeky bugger took the sheet with him/her!!!!! All that was left to do now was wait until firing time so we swapped pyro stories for a while until zero hour.
Firing time. A huge crowd gathered outside the front of the restaurant no one knew what they were outside for until we lit the Bengals to a great big cheer (these guys are easily pleased I thought just wait until we let rip) whilst the Bengals were casting their eerie light the lance work was fired up clearly displaying “40” with a couple of fountains on either side of it.
Next the water fall was brought to life with big oohs and ahhs from the crowd whilst the gerb ROARED in to action the fountain of this thing was bloody huge, and whilst people were enjoying a very relaxed tame display of quiet fireworks Pete lit a very rude wakeup call, a ground maroon BOOOM absolutely everyone jumped out of their skin I was almost in tears laughing my bollox off at them.
Time for the big guns the blockbusters were started up accompanied by the first volley of shells and first of the cakes followed by another bb rack and the titanium thunder candles, the breaks on the tit thunder candles were comparable in size to the bb but were much louder and I was glad to have seen them going head to head.
Well the whole place was going ballistic this was a very high impact in-yer-face display so it’s hard to pick out just what was going on and what effects were on show at any one time until the finale that is. This consisted of a number of shells and the 150 shot dragon eggs and thunder rain cakes, these cakes together were absolutely awesome (see picture below) the noise was incredible from the crackling of the thunder rain and the breaks from dragon eggs and the shells.
But, alas that scourge of every display THE END came all too quickly.
Oh well shows over folks you go on back inside and we will clean up all the mess hehe. All the racks were checked for misfires and then it was time to pack away and then the best bit I got to sweep up an entire car park in the rain (why did it start just as we finished) luckily we had an industrial size vacuum cleaner on hand as well (kind of like Noo noo but with attitude) and that was that.
A very successful night enjoyed by all time to go home and dream about the next few we had coming up over the next couple of weeks and one of these was an absolute belter.
Ps. Not many photos some git stole my camera so I lost the lot all photos are courtesy of Mary Burridge.
With thanks to Graham Mann. Feature ©2002 UK Firework Review.
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