Some Call It–Bonfire Night, But—-

This week, here in the UK, we celebrate the seven-hundredth wedding anniversary of Sage and Onion.

The two were married in a cauldron when a banquet was being prepared for King Gareth-Barry of Wales, at Castle Dunsinane, when he was entertaining King Duncan of Ireland and King Cardun of Norway.

It was Garth-Barry’s turn to host this annual occasion and then to supervise the forthcoming….‘Face Powdering Contest.’

(Think about it, all three nations have strange peculiarities and it was 1319!)

The tournament was to be staged in the nearby tiny village of Macbethy, famous for its competitive pigeons!

In order to tenderise these tough but fit Welsh birds, sage and onion were smeared on the flesh and then added to the usual cooking wine, made from leeks, sheep, and daffodils, in which they were to be poached.

At the end of the meal, which was enjoyed by all, both King Gareth-Barry’s son, Prince Carwyn and his Queen, Queen Faulkner died! (I know it’s a strange name for a girl, but that’s not my fault. Blame history) They had been using a forerunner to toothpicks, razor-sharp twigs, to remove the succulent remaining meat from the pigeon’s bones, but then, accidentally– swallowed them; whole!

Garth-Barry blamed the cook and her maid. In a violent temper, he burned them both, scattering their ashes on a nearby impoverished field.

HOWEVER…………………..Stay focused, I’m getting there.

An exact year from that tragic night a vast crop of aromatic sage, along with ripe onions, miraculously appeared from the hitherto barren ground. This sent the locals into a joyous dance of drunken merriment and glee. (It doesn’t take much) Such was their excitement nobody noticed King Gareth-Barry fall from his horse under a combined barrage of English, Scottish and Irish arrows, whilst riding towards the party. Annoyed at the noise the Welsh partygoers were making, the neighbours had invaded.

Thus was the beginning of the legend surrounding The Powder Plot.

Now, every November 5th, bundles of dried sage with chopped onion are tied to fireworks and ceremoniously set-off, whilst facing in the direction of Wales, in a United Kingdom attempt at appeasing the wrath of King Gareth-Barry.

If prior to reading this, you believed that Catholics or, perish the thought, Shakespeare had any connection to November 5th or Castle Dunisnane and Macbethy, you have now been enlightened!

About Daniel Kemp

At the age of seventy-six, Daniel Kemp has started his second year of studying the science of Psychology at the Open University. He is a member of The Society of Authors and also a bestselling writer. However, in early September 2025, he was diagnosed with cancer. He is now in palliative care at home, being looked after by his ex-wife. When he was writing his novels, he enjoyed writing stories that appealed to those who liked challenging themselves to solve mysteries that were set out before their eyes, but they couldn't. His introduction to the world of espionage and mystery happened at an early age when his father was employed by the War Office in Whitehall, London, at the end of WWII. However, it wasn’t until after his father died that he showed any interest in anything other than himself! On leaving academia he took on many roles in his working life: a London police officer, mini-cab business owner, pub tenant and licensed London taxi driver, but never did he plan to become a writer. Nevertheless, after a road traffic incident left him suffering from PTSD and effectively—out of paid work for four years, he wrote and self-published his first novel —The Desolate Garden. Within three months of publication, that book was under a paid option to become a $30 million film. The option lasted for six years until distribution became an insurmountable problem for the production company. All ten of his novels are now published by Next Chapter Publishing Company which has added an edition titled The Heirs And Descendants Collection, which holds all four books of that series, alongside an edition titled The Lies And Consequences Collection which contains all four volumes of that series. He is the recipient of rave reviews from a prestigious Manhattan publication and described as—the new Graham Green—by a highly placed executive of Waterstones Books, for whom he did a countrywide tour of book signing events. He has also appeared on 'live' television in the UK publicising his first novel. Less

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2 Responses to Some Call It–Bonfire Night, But—-

robertawrites235681907 says:

November 5, 2019 at 3:28 pm

This is a great story, Danny. An I thought it has something to do with Guy Fawkes for all these years.

Daniel Kemp says:

November 5, 2019 at 4:14 pm

So do most people but this might change it all—:P 😛 😛 😛 😛