A Very British Evening

Dame Maggie Smith famously commented that audiences loved Downton Abbey because it "almost never rains," thus creating a magical, nostalgic, sunlit vision of an England past. Lowering clouds or downpours arrived only to match an occasional challenging twist in the plot. Amazingly, we have just had such a sun drenched nostalgic evening here at Highclere for real. 

Each year, on the first Saturday of August, the Castle hosts a concert which begins with the Red Devils parachuting in before continuing with live music, a spitfire soaring and curving through the skies above our heads, fireworks and cannons. It is known as the Battle Proms.

Each year, like clockwork and weeks in advance, John G the Castle Manager will start worrying about the weather. Over the last 25 years it has only actually rained once but it has of course been overcast or a little damp although on the whole we have been very lucky with the weather. This year of course the weather has been beautifully warm and sunny so much so that John G instead had to worry about fire risks instead. 

Before all the preparations begin, the first thing we have to ensure is that the horses and sheep are removed to some distance away as the fireworks are not their idea of entertainment. Otherwise, for towards 8,000 people, I hope it is a most entertaining evening which begins in good English style with a queue that snakes down the driveway before the gate opens at 4pm to the large grass area in front of the Castle.

There are so many things I enjoy about this event but perhaps one of the best things is the sense of community and togetherness it engenders, from everyone trying to sing when no one quite know the words, to the intake of breath when the noise of the spitfire engine begins to grow. It is an iconic plane, and the noise of the engine and its silhouette against the sunset still evoke a pride in Britain’s fortitude and courage during the Second World War.

Somehow various historical episodes over several centuries are celebrated together on this evening: there is a marvellous display of old cavalry charges from the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century and a lot of music and costumes from the 1940’s

It is an evening for every one of every age, from five to ninety-five. London friends of mine were taken back to their childhoods with the thrill of watching the huge firework display silhouetted against the cedar tree, arguing about who took the best photos on their phones. Children came and went looking for hot chocolate or chips or more flags to to wave and my sister Penny competed to see if she could sing louder than her daughters. 

The evening builds towards the musical fireworks - spectacular circles of lights and multi- coloured shooting stars lighting up the darkness to the accompaniment of music.  All 8000 of us are looking up and sharing the same few minutes together in almost eerie synchronicity. 
Fireworks may be just a chemical reaction with a bit of flair, but they never grow stale whatever your age. They were first invented by the Chinese and only really made their way to Europe in the Tudor times. The wedding of Henry VII in 1486 was marked by fireworks and Elizabeth I much enjoyed them, so much so that she created a “Fire Master of England”. William Shakespeare mentions fireworks, for example in “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and the misuse of pyrotechnics - gunpowder - was the cause of the fire which destroyed the original Globe Theatre.  Two hundred years later in 1749, Handel wrote the Music for the Royal Fireworks to celebrate a peace treaty.

I am not sure many of us think very deeply about what we are all enjoying as we are there for the fun and friendship and the sheer spectacle of the evening, but there is no doubt that music allows us to connect to both our emotions and a feeling of togetherness. If we did need another reason to feel good, the event raises money for the charity SSAFA, the UK’s leading charity to help those who serve and save.