11th Night

July 11 is when they light the bonfires, in advance of the July 12 celebration of the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne. So beginning in maybe March or April, Protestant lads in loyalist areas start building bonfires. Which means open spaces get turned into garbage dumps. I cannot find words strong enough to say how much I hate bonfires. Because of the emissions. Because of the hooliganism. Because of the implied threat to Catholics. Because of the way criminal gangs (fka paramilitaries) use them to recruit gang members. Because of the anger and bigotry that underlie them.

So Orangefield Park is a new park built with EU funding. It has a lovely stream meandering through it, a paved path, fields, and a bowling green. Joe Pye weed and other flowering marsh species decorate the banks of the river. There are herons and, I'm told, a family of otters.

So what do the locals use it for?

When I see the bonfire take shape each year (it will get much larger) I think about how maybe Brexit is appropriate. We don't deserve to be part of the EU.

Early July.