Rhumba on the Humber

Sunday 13th Sept, 09, 3.51am

They thought it was all over, but it wasn't. Just as I'm posting this some very tired crew have just made it to bed after a night of thrills and frustration in Hull. Huge crowds gathered on the waterfront for the city's biggest ever display celebrating the Freedom Festival. Steve Boothman and his team produced a magical spectacle, fired from three positions, from the tower of the city's Holy Trinity Church, the Tidal Barrier and the main display from a barge on the Humber. One of the wow-factors came when Tidal Barrier suddenly lit up with a 100ft wide crackling waterfall while comets attacked each other from opposite sides. A blistering finale from the barge was met with a massive cheer from the crowd and then it was time to pack up and go home. Well, that was the plan. But just as the barge crew, led by senior firer Paul Roberts, were heading into dock around midnight, a mechanical failure at the lock gate left them stranded for nearly three hours. They finally limped home around 3am, tired but triumphant. A big well done to all the team and a sepcial thank you to the Freedom Festival organisers Unique Events for giving Fantastic Fireworks the opportunity. There are plenty of excellent photos of the barge display on flickr http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=hull%20freedom%20festival%20fireworks&w=all
and a selection of my best shots on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=109497&id=638256008.
Apart from the fireworks my wife's biggest thrill came when she spotted Peter Andre, one of the Festival's star performers, sitting a few seats away on our train!
Meanwhile across in Leeds, the Fantastic Fireworks crew led by Dave Mannion made the earth move at the annual Kirkstall Abbey open air concert. As the 1812 Overture reached its dramatic climax a glittering reproduction of a cannon appeared in the sky accompanied by a series of 16 sonic bangs marking Napoleon's retreat from Moscow.