Let’s be real – life is pretty bleak right now.
As the long, dark night of winter stretches out ahead, many of us have face-melting heating bills, chaotic commutes at the mercy of relentless storms, and a nice big helping of seasonal depression to look forward to.
From the barbaric conflicts raging in the Middle East to the moronic rioters in Kirkton, there’s a pervasive sense of low mood, both nationally and locally.
So the way I see it, joy is the most priceless commodity our communities can have right now.
And you know what brings me joy?
Fireworks.
I know, I know – they’re bad for the environment, they scare the animals, they’re a non-essential expense. I get all that.
But the child inside me just really wants to see some Catherine Wheels, OK? Sue me.
Remember, remember… why we ditched the fifth of November?
To me, there’s no better cure for the pre-Christmas gloom than a poke of chips drowned in enough vinegar to pickle your tongue and fifteen minutes spent staring at pretty lights in the sky with a couple of thousand strangers.
Plumes of icy breath, wee ones running around with glow-sticks, a stiff neck from craning skywards and the crack of a rocket that rattles your ribcage… it’s pure nostalgia, and you canni beat it.
Top it all off with a cosy up on the couch with some homemade hot chocolate and a screening of V For Vendetta, and you’ve got the perfect evening.
So it’s gutting that this will be the second year running with no firework displays in Dundee.
In 2022, the city council ditched the displays citing ‘safety reasons’ first, and then doubling down by saying the expense of the displays wasn’t worthwhile.
The safety thing was a slap in the face, given that we’d just come through two years of Covid panic and a firework display is one of the rare occasions that already takes place outdoors, with folk able to space out.
Not only that, but since scrapping the organised displays, the council still hasn’t implemented a ban on the sale of fireworks to individuals, despite two consecutive Halloween night riots in Kirkton, where rioters used them to incite fear and cause havoc across the area.
Surely it’s safer to curb individual sales and provide an organised display in a controlled environment instead, for folk who appreciate a bit of artful pyrotechnics?
Which leads to the real reason for the cuts – money.
‘£100k display? Do it for £10k’
It was said last year the Dundee displays cost “around £100k” and that money would be better spent elsewhere during our cost-of-living crisis.
Hard to disagree with the sentiment – but now instead of fireworks, we appear to have some rather odd light installations in the city centre, with the promise of “a full month of Christmas activities”.
Yippee.
Not to mention the fact that other large towns (such as Falkirk, which has a district population of 160,000 people, compared to Dundee’s 147,000) are providing firework displays for a more realistic-sounding £10k.
A drop in the ocean for Dundee City Council. Certainly, £10k isn’t going to make a dent in warming our homes.
So why not just warm our hearts a little bit instead?
For fifteen minutes, on one measly night of the year, burn that money on a bonfire and some spectacular rockets, and let us all get lost in the lights for a bit.
After all, you can’t buy happiness – but it’s worth spending on joy.
Conversation