Pillow fight organisers aiming to release hundreds of Chinese lanterns in York (From York Press)
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Pillow fight organisers aiming to release hundreds of Chinese lanterns in York
8:06am Thursday 12th August 2010 in
-
- By Dan Bean » dan.bean@thepress.co.uk
THE organisers of a pillow fight in York have confirmed their next event aims to light up the skies above the city.
The Night of a Thousand Lanterns is set to take place at the end of August to mark the end of summer, and in memory or celebration of a loved one.
Martyn Clayton is one of the flash mob organisers, and said he hoped people would join in the event on August 29, at 9.30pm, wherever they were.
“It’s called ‘The Night Of A Thousand Lanterns’ but it’s extremely unlikely there will be a thousand. More like a hundred or so,” said Martyn, 36.
“The idea is that people can light a lantern in their own back garden or in a public space at the same moment as other people are doing so across the city and beyond.”
The group is also asking participants to share the reasons they are releasing a lantern on a specially-created blog.
“We’d also like to know a little more about what you were wishing for or who you were commemorating both before and after the event,” said Martyn.
“Whether in remembrance of someone, celebration of a new birth, letting go of bad memories, we hope people will take photographs and videos of themselves releasing their lantern.”
On Sunday, York Flash Mob organised a pillow fight in Museum Gardens which went ahead despite museum staff and police trying to prevent it.
A spokesman from the York Museum Trust told The Press that prior notification about the event had not been received.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), confirmed the group had contacted them regarding the lantern launch, and had been given permission to go ahead with the event.
The CAA said: “On a Sunday evening around York there shouldn’t be an issue with aviation”.
However, it advised the group to consider the potential for lanterns causing fire to wheat or barley fields.
The group has requested all participants ensure they use lanterns with non-flammable string and are made of biodegradable materials rather than wire or metal.
For more information on the event, visit nightofathousandlanterns.wordpress.com/
Comments(34)
mrcharly
says...
9:30am Thu 12 Aug 10
Letting off lots of sky lanterns at this time of year is a terrible idea.
Face Like A Smashed Crab
says...
9:41am Thu 12 Aug 10
Fred the Shred
says...
9:50am Thu 12 Aug 10
AdmiralNN
says...
9:53am Thu 12 Aug 10
Face Like A Smashed Crab wrote:agreed i thought these were supposed to be spontaneous, wacky and fun. But this just seems like a desperate attempt at it. If it takes a few weeks to plan youve missed the point.
Isn't the idea of these "flash mobs" that they take the public by surprise? They are supposed to be spontanious. Advertising it like this just makes it a gimmick.
Woody Mellor
says...
10:36am Thu 12 Aug 10
GoodDoc
says...
11:47am Thu 12 Aug 10
spiritofyork
says...
11:59am Thu 12 Aug 10
Grumpy Old Man
says...
12:04pm Thu 12 Aug 10
GoodDoc wrote:Watch the BBC or read the national press more. Reports of two recent fires caused by these idiotic contraptions - one a garden shed the other a large amount of valuable crops. I'm not a physicist but I know my history. These lanterns were developed as weapons of war - and there are dozens of pracrical reasons why they can crash when still alight. And you don't need a flame to start a fire. The hot container the candle was in could be enough to ignite dry vegetation. Perhaps your knowledge of basic physics isn 't quite as good as you think.
The comments about the dry fields are a nonsense. If you have a basic grasp of physics and have seen these things in operation, you'd know that they only hit the ground when the flame is out. Still, if we believe these commenters, after a hundred or so go up we can expect at least one large-scale fire. We shall see!
spiritofyork
says...
12:21pm Thu 12 Aug 10
Ghost of Oscar Deutsch
says...
12:42pm Thu 12 Aug 10
Platform 9
says...
12:47pm Thu 12 Aug 10
redr
says...
12:55pm Thu 12 Aug 10
Anyone caught having fun could be forced to listen to an hour long lecture by Pedalling Paul about the benefits of the new council headquarters.
TooRelaxed
says...
12:59pm Thu 12 Aug 10
redr wrote::D
I hope the press get one of their award winning journalists to start a campaign to ban fun.
Anyone caught having fun could be forced to listen to an hour long lecture by Pedalling Paul about the benefits of the new council headquarters.
yorkie1980
says...
1:09pm Thu 12 Aug 10
Grumpy Old Man wrote:Grumpy Old Man = Keith Lard from Phoenix Nights?
GoodDoc wrote: The comments about the dry fields are a nonsense. If you have a basic grasp of physics and have seen these things in operation, you'd know that they only hit the ground when the flame is out. Still, if we believe these commenters, after a hundred or so go up we can expect at least one large-scale fire. We shall see!Watch the BBC or read the national press more. Reports of two recent fires caused by these idiotic contraptions - one a garden shed the other a large amount of valuable crops. I'm not a physicist but I know my history. These lanterns were developed as weapons of war - and there are dozens of pracrical reasons why they can crash when still alight. And you don't need a flame to start a fire. The hot container the candle was in could be enough to ignite dry vegetation. Perhaps your knowledge of basic physics isn 't quite as good as you think.
caesar augallo
says...
1:28pm Thu 12 Aug 10
redr wrote:Classic
I hope the press get one of their award winning journalists to start a campaign to ban fun. Anyone caught having fun could be forced to listen to an hour long lecture by Pedalling Paul about the benefits of the new council headquarters.
GoodDoc
says...
2:44pm Thu 12 Aug 10
.
And as regards litter, come on! Let's ban fireworks too, we don't want spent shells littering the countryside. Yeah actually, let's just ban fun altogether. Too much risk involved.
UsernameNotAvailable
says...
3:14pm Thu 12 Aug 10
GoodDoc
says...
3:20pm Thu 12 Aug 10
UsernameNotAvailable wrote:Haha because such incidents are incredibly common aren't they. Balsa wood and paper, instead of the plastic shells of fireworks etc. I take it all you critics are firm opponents to New Year's celebrations etc. Wow. Some people really believe everything they read.
Lets just hope that this display of fashionable fly-tipping doesn't end in livestock injuries and deaths from eating silage contaminated by bits of wire or bamboo.
MCWM
says...
5:31pm Thu 12 Aug 10
GoodDoc
says...
6:02pm Thu 12 Aug 10
nowthen
says...
7:36pm Thu 12 Aug 10
GoodDoc wrote:It's not just damage to livestock , thatched roofs and dry crops but also coastguards are involved see http://www.heraldsco
Out of interest, can anyone find reported cases of animals swallowing them? Because all the articles I can find relate to one single incident. Not a bad probability if you think how many must get released yearly. It's amazing how the media focus on a single event gives people an entirely warped sense of danger.
tland.com/news/home-
news/coastguard-left
-counting-cost-of-la
nterns-craze-1.10014
24 .If Coastguards are out chasing lanterns and you are in distress at sea how would you feel? In addition they are litter. Is there one law for litter in the city and another for litter in the countryside? Is it ok to sling a doffed fag in the countryside but not in the city?
councilsconscience
says...
7:51pm Thu 12 Aug 10
Face Like A Smashed Crab wrote:yes, but it does give the council notice to a) licence it & b) in 2011 force it to be moved to the knavesmire where the event will also include a giant fun fair, food stalls & a 'local celeb' to open the whole event by sending up a giant chinese lantern with 'vote for the lib dems' written on the side in chinese!!
Isn't the idea of these "flash mobs" that they take the public by surprise? They are supposed to be spontanious. Advertising it like this just makes it a gimmick.
Hackney Lee
says...
9:43pm Thu 12 Aug 10
Vic Mellons
says...
9:57pm Thu 12 Aug 10
agabbiecabby
says...
10:16pm Thu 12 Aug 10
King Edward
says...
10:24pm Thu 12 Aug 10
mrcharly wrote:That will properly light up the sky, and if it's near Toxwith hopefully cleansing the landscape of the blight of web footed villagers of the damned. Most crops are harvested so it'll burn the stubble off like old times. Very organic.
York is surrounded by ripe, dry cropfields.
Letting off lots of sky lanterns at this time of year is a terrible idea.
GoodDoc
says...
1:26am Fri 13 Aug 10
nowthen wrote:Ah yes, let's not worry the coastguards.
GoodDoc wrote:It's not just damage to livestock , thatched roofs and dry crops but also coastguards are involved see http://www.heraldsco
Out of interest, can anyone find reported cases of animals swallowing them? Because all the articles I can find relate to one single incident. Not a bad probability if you think how many must get released yearly. It's amazing how the media focus on a single event gives people an entirely warped sense of danger.
tland.com/news/home-
news/coastguard-left
-counting-cost-of-la
nterns-craze-1.10014
24 .If Coastguards are out chasing lanterns and you are in distress at sea how would you feel? In addition they are litter. Is there one law for litter in the city and another for litter in the countryside? Is it ok to sling a doffed fag in the countryside but not in the city?
.
Some basic maths: the coast is let's say about 40 miles away. Chinese Lanterns are designed to burn for around 20 minutes. That means these lanterns would have to travel at 120mph to even get to the beach. Let's all just hope it's not quite that windy on the launch day.
nowthen
says...
7:58pm Fri 13 Aug 10
GoodDoc wrote:You must be a townie then if you think it's ok to litter the countryside. I see it everyday KFC and McDonalds junk food scattered along country lanes. Why not add a couple of hundred chinese lanterns as long as you and those like you get your OOOhs and AAAAHs ,have fun.
nowthen wrote:Ah yes, let's not worry the coastguards.
GoodDoc wrote:It's not just damage to livestock , thatched roofs and dry crops but also coastguards are involved see http://www.heraldsco
Out of interest, can anyone find reported cases of animals swallowing them? Because all the articles I can find relate to one single incident. Not a bad probability if you think how many must get released yearly. It's amazing how the media focus on a single event gives people an entirely warped sense of danger.
tland.com/news/home-
news/coastguard-left
-counting-cost-of-la
nterns-craze-1.10014
24 .If Coastguards are out chasing lanterns and you are in distress at sea how would you feel? In addition they are litter. Is there one law for litter in the city and another for litter in the countryside? Is it ok to sling a doffed fag in the countryside but not in the city?
.
Some basic maths: the coast is let's say about 40 miles away. Chinese Lanterns are designed to burn for around 20 minutes. That means these lanterns would have to travel at 120mph to even get to the beach. Let's all just hope it's not quite that windy on the launch day.
GoodDoc
says...
9:36pm Fri 13 Aug 10
nowthen wrote:OK, so having completely discredited the fire argument and the even more ludicrous coastguard argument, there's nothing to complain about apart from the litter! Brilliant!
GoodDoc wrote:You must be a townie then if you think it's ok to litter the countryside. I see it everyday KFC and McDonalds junk food scattered along country lanes. Why not add a couple of hundred chinese lanterns as long as you and those like you get your OOOhs and AAAAHs ,have fun.
nowthen wrote:Ah yes, let's not worry the coastguards.
GoodDoc wrote:It's not just damage to livestock , thatched roofs and dry crops but also coastguards are involved see http://www.heraldsco
Out of interest, can anyone find reported cases of animals swallowing them? Because all the articles I can find relate to one single incident. Not a bad probability if you think how many must get released yearly. It's amazing how the media focus on a single event gives people an entirely warped sense of danger.
tland.com/news/home-
news/coastguard-left
-counting-cost-of-la
nterns-craze-1.10014
24 .If Coastguards are out chasing lanterns and you are in distress at sea how would you feel? In addition they are litter. Is there one law for litter in the city and another for litter in the countryside? Is it ok to sling a doffed fag in the countryside but not in the city?
.
Some basic maths: the coast is let's say about 40 miles away. Chinese Lanterns are designed to burn for around 20 minutes. That means these lanterns would have to travel at 120mph to even get to the beach. Let's all just hope it's not quite that windy on the launch day.
.
For your info, I was bought up on a 450 acre farm in Lincolnshire and my closest friends are still farmers. Might I suggest you're the townie, if you think that some paper bags and balsa wood are going to ruin the beautiful quaint countryside that you go to look at. Any one with an ounce of rural sense know that there are more significant things farmers have to worry about than biodegradable rubbish. Even our plastic shotgun shells would technically do more harm. Anyway, shouldn't you be campaigning against the use of fireworks? Non-biodegradable, terrifying for animals, and responsible for many deaths every year? Or can I assume your ignorance is matched only by your hypocrisy? :)
Secret Pie
says...
11:35pm Fri 13 Aug 10
Regarding the sudden nature of flash mob activity, that was being discussed before people worried about fires/litter/animals
/coastguards/alien-i
nvasion etc.....a great flash mob project takes a lot of forward planning - it's the effect on the surrounding surprised public that makes it a success or not.
If you're not setting one off then just look out of your window on the night and enjoy the theatre of lanterns and everyone try not to worry or intellectualise too much....maybe try and attach something you worry about or want to ban to each lantern you see and let those negative feelings drift away.
York seems to be getting it's soul and heart-beat back....enjoy it!
nowthen
says...
7:33pm Sat 14 Aug 10
GoodDoc
says...
6:04pm Sun 15 Aug 10
.
My point is that sometimes mild littering is tolerated for public celebrations. Your take is that there is never any excuse for ANY kind of littering, including confetti, fireworks, paper lanterns - particularly when it ruins your pretty little rural idyll. Apparently, it doesn't matter if it's biodegradable, it doesn't matter whether it causes barely any harm in comparison to things you don't compain about, it only matters that you don't think they're fun. If you're really worried about litter, I'd advise you to forget a one-off public event with paper-lanterns and patrol outside pubs for fag-ends instead.
Digeorge
says...
1:31pm Mon 16 Aug 10
I do wonder about this event and litter and give the group a bill for picking up the litter.
For someone that has actually lost a loved one, I think about my son and dad most days, it doesn't go away but you learn to live with it.
I visit their graves in Kirkbymoorside every now and again. I look at their photographs as part of grieving process but a lattern?
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caesar augallo says...
8:32am Thu 12 Aug 10