How it Began - In the beginning...

The annual firework display at Hatch Beauchamp Playing field has been going for many years now. It has always been an exciting night for the village for both adults and children alike, months of planning and preparation took place before the event, in the hope that the weather would be kind and the spectators would attend. I will always remember as a child, coming home from school each day, looking out of my bedroom window and seeing the ever-growing pile of wood and vegetation that would make up the bonfire (which could also turned into a very good camp!) At that time, the spectators numbered about 300 people and comprised mainly of locals from the surrounding villages.

The display has ALWAYS been (and always will be) a non-profit making event. In the days before John and myself took over as organisers, all the profits went into the kitty for next years display.

Many people were saddened to see in the local parish magazine that in the summer of 1998, there was an article stating that the organisers of the event were going to call it a day. The cause being a number of reasons, in particular the ever increasing strict regulations on the use of fireworks at public events, thus leading to insurance being very hard to acquire for 'normal' public events such as this.

The turn around...

After hearing the news about the possibility of the display finishing if no one wanted to take over and inject some 'new life' into the event, I felt something had to be done. After several meetings with the previous organisers I decided I wanted to give it a go. After advertising that I needed other people to help me achieve this, I met John Benfield.

John and myself, Myra his wife, my father, mother and a group of friends met up to discuss the options and the practicality of the running the show. This proved to be very positive. We had a heck of a lot of planning and preparation to do but it turned out that we all had our own personal skills and contacts to pull it off.

Although at that time, I was still studying for my A-levels, I worked part-time for a firework company based in Uffculme. At that time I was only doing fairly small scale displays, but had the knowledge and contacts to get the display designed and performed in a professional manor, with full insurance via Skyburst The Firework Co, including use of display fireworks not available to the general public, such as 'shells' and large 'cakes.'

John had many contacts in the catering and building trade, so things like the food for the BBQ, scaffold towers and the like were easy to come by. Myra took care of the accounts for the committee and my father was able to provide the advertising via, Pixel-Ink and through contacts in what was the Taunton Times and Somerset County Gazette. We soon managed to gather a band of helpers to rope off the area, get the bonfire going, do the BBQ and sell refreshments in the village hall. Myself, my wife Beth and a team of trained guys got together rigged and fired the display itself. All in all, a good combination of helpers.

Our first display was on 5th November 1998 and proved to be a huge success, all the regular local businesses and helpers turned out to help us on the night and we managed to pull in a crowed of just over 400 people. The modest profits from the display went into out kitty for next year, when another successful display took place.

The event has grown from year to year, with an initial crowd of about 300 spectators, to last years count of just over 3500!!! It was a fantastic turn, enabling us to give £4000 to various nominated charities and £500 to Hatch Beuachamp Village Hall Committee. We now choreograph the fireworks to music as the show gets bigger and better each year including a newly incorporated laser and light system. One thing we must remember it that all of this would not be possible without the help and support from local organisations, villagers and to all of you who come and spectate. The planning for the event begins almost as soon as the last display has finished and everyone involved sacrifices an enormous about of time, effort and money to make the event what it is and its huge feeling of satisfaction at the end to so many people enjoying themselves whilst at the same time, supporting some great charities! I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank everyone for attending last year. Unfortunately, we were let down by a number of people due to help us and because of the huge turn-out there was some delay on firing. However, most people didn't seem to mind and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We received many letters of thanks and congratulations for pulling off what was Hatch's grandest display so far

Plans are certainly underway for this years display, ensuring better parking, access through the village and so on. The fireworks have been ordered, the weather has been booked and I'm sure we can rely on your support to make this the best display yet!

Simon