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Former teacher, Catherine Lynch, of Education Resource explains the gruesome story: It marks the day in 1605 when Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was also known as Guido Fawkes, he was born and educated in York during the reign of Elizabeth l, a Protestant monarch. Many Catholics, who were regarded as enemies of the state, were subjected to torture, imprisonment and execution. Her successor, King James I, was more moderate but many Catholics remained unhappy that they weren’t permitted to practise their religion at home in peace.

At the age of eight, Fawkes’ father died and his mother married a Catholic. Fawkes converted to Catholicism and went to Catholic Spain to fight in the war against the Protestant Dutch reformers (the Eighty Years War). In Spain, Fawkes tried to get support for a Catholic rebellion in England, but he was unsuccessful. He met Thomas Wintour who, back in England, introduced him to Robert Catesby. Catesby planned to assassinate King James I because he wanted England to have a Catholic monarch. 

Catesby, Wintour and Fawkes were joined by others in their plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the state opening of Parliament. Fawkes would light the fuse, escape across the river Thames and make his way to Europe. However, an anonymous letter was sent to William Parker, Lord Monteagle, alerting him to the plot. On November 5th1605, Fawkes was discovered underneath the Houses of Parliament guarding the gunpowder. He was arrested and tortured.

Fawkes and eight of the plotters stood trial. The jury found them guilty and they were killed in January 1606. For years, the failed Gunpowder Plot was marked by bonfires, special sermons and public events such as the ringing of church bells. An Act of Parliament named November 5th as a day of thanksgiving for the “joyful day of deliverance”. This act remained in force until 1859. Over time, Bonfire Night has become the more commercial celebration we have today.

Download free Bonfire Night activities here.

Brother Andrew, famous for smuggling Bibles across the Iron Curtain in a blue Volkswagen Beetle, has died aged 94.

Nicknamed ‘God’s smuggler’, Brother Andrew’s passion for supporting persecuted Christians spawned global charity, Open Doors that is helping millions of persecuted Christians worldwide.

Anne van der Bijl, better known as Brother Andrew, died on Tuesday 27 September, surrounded by his family who had provided him with dedicated around-the-clock care in the last few years of his life.

The book of his adventures, God’s Smuggler, sold over ten million copies in 35 languages, remaining in print for more than 40 years.

Henrietta Blyth, CEO of Open Doors UK and Ireland, said: “When Brother Andrew started his ministry, little did he imagine that within 60 years it would embrace millions of Christians worldwide. He leaves behind a remarkable legacy.”

Open Doors currently works in more than 70 countries worldwide, providing spiritual and material support to Christians who live under threat from governments, militants, and social persecution.

Brother Andrew was born on 11 May 1928 in Sint Pancras, the Netherlands. He joined the colonial army of the Dutch East Indies, and converted to Christianity during a period of convalescence, where he spent much of his time reading the Bible.

After receiving missionary training in Scotland, Brother Andrew travelled to Poland in 1955 to participate in a Communist youth rally. He travelled there with a suitcase full of Christian tracts. Arriving there, he discovered that churches behind the Iron Curtain were isolated and in need of encouragement.

His border crossings in a bright blue Volkswagen Beetle stuffed with illicit Bibles in 1957 is recorded in his autobiography, God’s Smuggler, written 10 years later with the journalists John and Elizabeth Sherrill.

The Bible smuggling reached a climax in June 1981 when a 20-person Open Doors crew landed a custom-built barge onto a Chinese beach under the cover of darkness. They floated a million Bibles to waiting Chinese Christians, who spirited them away, copies reaching to all corners of China. Time magazine called ‘Project Pearl’, as it was known, “the largest operation of its kind in the history of China”.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Brother Andrew turned his attention to the Islamic World, saying that the rapid spread of Islam posed the greatest challenge yet to the Christian church worldwide. He travelled to the Middle East and South Asia and had private meetings with leaders of several Islamic fundamentalist groups. However, Brother Andrew preached against retaliation – repeatedly declaring ‘I sincerely love all Muslims’ as a counter to the rising Islamophobia in the west.

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands knighted Brother Andrew in 1993. In 1997, he received the World Evangelical Alliance’s Religious Liberty Award, recognising his lifetime of service to suffering Christians and his passion for evangelical ministry.

But perhaps the recognition that pleased him most was the copies of KGB reports, which he obtained after the fall of the Iron Curtain. There were more than 150 pages about him, detailing his work in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Despite this, they were still unable to stop his work.

During Easter 2018, the then-Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote to Brother Andrew, saying, “I would like to express my personal thanks for the extraordinary and courageous support you have provided to the persecuted Church throughout the years.

“Having read ‘God’s Smuggler’ as a child, I know that your story has inspired millions of people around the world to speak out on behalf of the voiceless and suffering.”

Anne van der Bijl was married for 59 years to Corry, who died in January 2018. He is survived by five children and eleven grandchildren.

A private memorial service is currently being arranged.

When it comes to time well spent, not much comes close to a game played with your friends under the sun.

For many, bowls is reserved as the sport of a certain generation – played slowly, with precision and patience. But for the D+D Bowls Club, it’s the sport of a lifetime; relaxing and so sociable.

In February, the D+D team set off from their UK HQ for the West coast of America to find the ultimate ways of spending time during balmy summer days – all under the brand’s SS22 TIME + PLACE campaign.

On the greens of Beverley Hills’ Holmby Park, they found it, pitching the UK versus the US in a game of wit, skill, and ruthless tactics, as the newly formed D+D Bowls Club took on the experience of Holmby Park Lawn Bowls Club, a group of retired Hollywood actors and film directors.

Everyone wore their selected pair of D+D sneakers from their SS22 collection – proving their abilities to take on the challenge of staying comfy (and looking hella swag) whilst the temperature climbed.

Designed to be lightweight, and made by hand with soft but durable materials, each sneaker has been ventilated with perforation or breathable technical mesh to maximise airflow to the feet.

Despite everything, the afternoon wasn’t about showing what our latest collection can do. It was about showing what D+D is all about – footwear that’s made to be worn and built for purpose, not just by individuals but by communities. Footwear that is made with quality and comfort at its core and designed to be as versatile as you need it to be.

And if you’re wondering Team D+D got absolutely murdered on the field.