The morning after the delights of Lewes Bonfire, the Mayor of Lewes, Councillor Shirley Sains hosted a breakfast for the street cleaners who work through the night to clear the town after the festivities.

Lewes Bonfire is historically important for the people of Lewes and a key part of community culture. The history of Lewes Bonfire goes back many years and the annual event is a  the residents of the town to celebrate this ancient tradition, the festivities of which are run by independent Bonfire Societies.

As one of the biggest celebrations of the Fifth in the country Lewes Bonfire is impressive not only for the fiery celebrations and headline-making effigies, but also the strong community spirit of Lewes, demonstrating year after year how the local bonfire societies work with the statutory bodies to pull off a spectacular event.

Lewes District Council’s officers have a vital role around the licensing enforcement and managing the security of the event as well as the all-important cleanup after the festivities. For several years, the Mayor of Lewes has hosted a breakfast to say thank you to the street cleaners who clear up the detritus after the celebrations. The cleaning team were treated to a full English breakfast after a long night of work.

As in previous years, the Mayor and some of the town councillors helped serve toast, tea and coffee. The Mayor thanked everybody who in Lewes whose community spirit once again made the event the highlight of the Lewes calendar, saying of the Bonfire Societies “Highly organised and passionate about safety, don’t argue if they tell you to do something, they want be druv.”

The Mayor also welcomed some dignitaries from Lewes’ twinned German town of Waldshut-Tiengen for the weekend, continuing the renewed cultural exchange, as well as the Waldstadtfagar band who performed in the Town Hall on Friday 4 November, and joined in one of the processions.