Diwali in Southall

I live in Southall, just to the west of London. It's the centre of a large Asian-British community, and tonight, many of them are celebrating Diwali.

The many houses with candles and votive lights flickering on windowsills and around doorways are a beautiful sight.

However, in addition to these quieter, more reflective lights, thousands of pounds worth of fireworks have been going off all around the town since sunset, and it's still going strong. In previous years, the bangs and whizzes have continued into the early hours of the morning, finally petering out around 1-2am.

The noise is quite unbelievable. A constant barrage of explosions and whizzes and screeches, with no pauses or lulls.

Suggestion? Don't come to Southall on the night of the Diwali new moon if you have problems with loud noises!