Bonfire cancelled because of shotgun shell

Bishops Falls - One Newfoundland community will not be able to have its annual bonfire on November 5 because a live shotgun shell was found near the pile set to be burned.

Joe Thomas, of the Lion's Club in Bishop's Falls, is one of the organizers of the Guy Fawkes night bonfire. He said there are concerns that there could be more live ammunition inside the pile. "I don't think it was malicious at all. I think that someone honestly lost it, or didn't see the ammunition in the bag that they were throwing in the pile," CBC News quoted him as saying. He added that this would be the first time the bonfire had been cancelled. Several people are unhappy about the decision, and several comments have been left on the CBC web site, stating that a shotgun shell would post no threat, but simply fizzle. Bonfire night celebrations began after a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament, in London, was foiled. Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of Catholics who, unhappy with Protestant rule, hid 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords in 1605. He was in the cellar when the authorities arrived on November 5, and ended up being executed for treason. That night, a bonfire burned to celebrate the king’s safety. Bonfire night is celebrated across Britain. Although it is not widely marked in most of Canada, there are dozens of communities in Newfoundland which hold bonfires. Most no longer add an effigy of Guy Fawkes to the blaze. St. John's banned the fires because of fears that a blaze might get out of control.