PaulM

Thanks Phil. My view is not too sophisticated - and I am NOT a firework expert, I am completely humbled and out of my depth in the company that makes up the society. Here it is for what its worth.

I love wine, Red wine actually. Travel through France and around every corner there's a different vineyard, a different producer and a range of wines so varied you could never sample them all. That characterises France to a great degree. U.K. Fireworks jogged along in a similar fashion - brands were favoured for REAL reasons, consumers formed true and valid opinions and demonstrated those with loyalty. I don't buy fireworks now of course so I really can't comment on where we are now, but I couldn't tell one Chinese firework brand from the next, apart I might say from obvious quality levels. I did receive some innovative Kimbolton stuff a while back, a Jumping Jelly Beans item - it was absolutely lovely BECAUSE it was different. 

Despite my Astra background, I love Standard stuff, looking at the craftsmanship that went into their material it was absolutely beautiful, Their pin-wheel, stark white with a deep red centre hub - to me that is the definitive wheel. As a manufacturer I know the pride and satisfaction gained from producing something that looks right and works well. We don't produce Paintball pyrotechnics any more (Chinese imports stuffed the market....that's another story) but when we did we took genuine pride in everything that went out. In the ten years we manufactured the various smokes, thunderflashes, grenades etc. we produced more than a million items, all by hand, possibly nearer to 1.5 million. There are obvious parrallels between what we were doing then and the old firework industry.

To me it's about more than just money. The magic of the business cannot be replaced by importing something from a country where some poor sod has to survive on a pittance, and capitalising on an immoral difference in wealth between "them and us"

That's little more than box moving and that, to me, is in a nutshell the manifest result of the decline of the fireworks industry. I appreciate the fact that younger enthusiasts have been failed the opportunity of savouring the delights of home produced goods - I never fail to recognise and appreciate the talent and knowledge of the contributors to these forums and am truly saddened at the loss to them of the industry I am prattling on about.

Feel free to defend Chinese stuff, I probably DO need educating and bollocking for failing to see a different picture.

Paul M.

I should have mentioned in the previous post....on occassion I have been less than complimentary about Chinese material, my previous comments may explain that to some degree. My nostalgic opinions are formed because of the individuality of the different manufacturers and the reasons behind that individuality, as I stated before, it was more than just artistry, there were very rfeal reasons for differing styles across the market, I thinks this is significant and important. To me, Chinese fireworks are all the same.....Red, Green Crackle...Red, Green, Crackle etc. etc. etc..... good or bad, U.K. manufacture produced different styles from one factory to the other. Fireworks today are like McDonalds food.......I'd better shut up or brace myself for correction!!

I'll dig them out Phil, scan them and post them for all. Nothing groundbreaking I'm afraid but it provides a valid comment on the industry quite simply because every factory operated according to its own stylistic approach. Not necessarily for reasons of artistry either. In Astra's case, we made cheap fireworks. I could say cheap and nasty, I'm certain our competitors would have!!.

We always came second place to Standard with respect to quality of effect and the appearance of the firework itself. We marketed on the basis of value and to achieve this, savings had to be made. These savings relied on a special ingredient - sawdust! I kid you not!.

I know this will come across as disloyal, but that's how it was and I recall it with a smile. I remember one year 300+ letters of complaint and 1 congratulating the company on the quality of merchandise, the letter was passed around and became the subject of much merriment.

As I say, I did have a copy of the Brocks Swaffham composition register - all resorcinol resin pumped compositions along with Wizard Fireworks, can't imagine where that came from.

The poor quality of the Astra stuff is part of history so far as I'm concerned, these mixes characterised the products at a time when a firework was a big deal to a youngster and only encountered once a year. The effects were part and parcel of the brand - good or bad, that's what we sold and I am pleased to have kept it. I will make a big effort to post within the coming week and would value opinions very much indeed.

I did keep all the old compositions from Astra with all the tube sizes etc. I will try and dig them out. I actually had records of Wizard and Brocks too, "Lent" them to someone.....never do that, trust me. I never saw them again.

Did the society get any further with this?