Bonfire Night

Remember remember the 5th of November with gunpowder treason and plot.  But who does, nowadays? Most kids prefer Hallowe'en, with its fun costumes and guarantee of candy. Too American for your taste? Well, it's European in origin, exported to the New World as All Hallow's Eve and then re-imported back again as an excuse to extort sweeties from strangers.

Sir Geoffrey does not like Hallowe'en. He is old school. He likes proper traditions, which involve the burning of Roman Catholics at the stake – even if only symbolically. He disapproves of modernity in general, even though the traditions of the Bar he grew up with are barely recognisable. Clerks calling barristers by their first names? Lady judges? Wigs now seldom if ever worn in court? The world changes too fast.