1) The Great Fire of London:

Started in September 1666 by anti-cockney protestors, the Great Fire served a useful historical duty by effectively ridding London of the Plague. To do this it burned down around 13,000 properties, most of which were made of wood, and so basically asking for it. The fire is celebrated by the Monument, near the Tower of London, which commemorates all the fantastic fires that have ever happened.

2) The Great Chicago Fire:

Inspired by events in London, the Americans inevitably decided to join in. This fire took place in October 1871, and took out 17,000 houses, McDonalds and Starbucks. 300 people gave themselves to the flames during this one, and according to www.fire-extinguisher101.com this is all because a cow kicked over a gas lamp. Unfortunately the Americans chose to commemorate this bovine arson by holding a National Fire Prevention Week, but that still leaves 51 other weeks each year for some fire-fun.

Better news is that the people of Chicago also decided to name their football (soccer) team after the Fire - the photo on the left is a man known only as Ralph. www.chicago-fire.com may tell you more if you're that bothered.

3) Crystal Palace, London:

More flames for the jellied-eel lot,this time in 1936, to get rid of the building used for exhibitions, conferences and filming Eastenders. The description on www.uk-emergencyservices.com suggests that this was quite a spectacular sight for miles around, with the flames visible 50 miles away in Brighton. Thousands of people turned out to see what was going on, and no doubt chucked a few bits of rubbish on to keep it going.

4) Nailsea School Swimming Pool:

The swimming pool at Nailsea School hadn’t been used for a few years, and had basically become a haven for rats and pupils looking for somewhere to have a cheeky smoke at lunchtimes. All that changed in 1993, when overnight the plastic shell was sent up in smoke, leaving just a big scar on the side of the adjacent sports hall to show what had been there before lighter fluid fell into the wrong hands.

The picture of Nailsea School Sports Hall on the left cannot be explained, except to say nothing like that went on while the HMZ team were pupils there.

5) Forest Fires, France:

In July 2003, massive areas of Southern France set alight by arsonists. There were 4 martyrs to the matches created. As great francophiles we were delighted to see the French join in with the new burning craze, and hope that they went back to their pavement cafe for a nice pint of Scrump afterwards.

One highlight of this prolonged spell of French burning was that it included many tents being burned, which is a favourite feature of most Hannah More Zider fires. Which brings us nicely to…

A cheeky pilot takes advantage of the panic in France and switches his smoke machine on

6) Glastonbury Festival, Somerset:

The home of fire. It holds organised fire events, in particular the burning of the Wicker Man. It has a stage devoted to Fire Shows. The main Pyramid stage was burned down in 1994 just 2 weeks before the festival. But the greatest Glastonbury fires are the unofficial versions. At night the site is illuminated by small fires as people sit and relax, with a layer of smoke hanging over the whole area. In the area usually inhabited by the HMZ team the smoke is a little thicker than usual, as in the Glastonbury fire anything goes on. High points have been 1998, when we first burnt an “abandoned” tent, and 2002 when the black clouds of burning acrylic and nylon made it impossible to see the fence, just 15 metres away.

7) Fireworks Factory, Manchester:

A fantastic sight in October 2002 when just weeks before Bonfire Night a firework factory in Manchester caught fire, and sent its contents flying off in all directions. Sadly the spectacle was spoiled slightly by the fact this happened in daylight, but television pictures were still able to show rockets lighting up the sky, and a giant Catherine wheel spinning on the front of the building.

8) Twerton Park, Bath:

The temporary home of Bristol Rovers was attacked by a gang of 8 Bristol City fans on their way back from an away match in 1990, burning down the 60-year old main stand. The event is still celebrated by the chant of “One Man went to burn down Twerton” sung at Bristol City games. The stand on the left of this photo was the one built after the fire.

9) Eastville, Bristol:

Ranked below the Twerton fire as it wasn’t started deliberately, the 1980 fire at Eastville destroyed the South Stand and its enclosure. This event was a major factor in the chain of events which led to Rovers leaving their home and becoming wandering gypsies, squatting first at Bath City (see above) and then at Bristol Rugby Club, whose Memorial Stadium (pictured on the right) has strangely not yet enjoyed a fire.

10) Windsor Castle:

As part of the Queen’s “Annus Horribulus” of 1992 her castle was burned down. It burned for 15 hours, and took with it 100 rooms. The castle was closed for 5 years before it was re-opened to the public after £37 million of repair work. It has never been proved whether the royal love of cider (see our Famous Cider Drinkers section) was connected to the inferno.