5th November is an important date in the UK – but it’s also an important date to me. My sister was born 5th November and sadly, she’s no longer with us. It’s been 13 years but it feels like a lifetime ago.

It’s always felt special that there is the celebration that falls on her birthday every year so I always try to attend some kind of event. This year was no different. It was an event that I’d heard was one of the best around – hours of music, stalls, food and fun, followed by a 30-minute firework display.

The event I went to last year was more community based but the display was great so this was supposed to be bigger and better. With around 22,000 guests, it had to be special. However, I actually found the whole thing disappointing. Not so much because of the event, but because of the people.

There was a wide variety of people from families to groups of teenagers. I was fortunate to have premium tickets which meant I had access to a nicer area but there were a lot of drunk adults. What I found though was that so many people were leaving litter. Bins were provided and emptied regularly, yet so many people felt inclined to just leave their rubbish on the ground, or even spit their gum into the grass.

You have this beautiful stately home and grounds to spend your evening in, and yet you choose to ruin it. People were climbing trees and others were breaking in to get into the event. Other people would shout and there was this one woman who kept shining a torch in everyone’s face. It literally lit up meters around her.

There were men shouting things while we were waiting for the fireworks to start and drinks were flowing. Despite a beautiful display, I couldn’t help but be saddened by the lack of community. When did everybody get so selfish? When did it become such a rare thing to smile at a stranger?

On top of all of that, I couldn’t help but think about the amount of animals that end up in distress because of private fireworks. It was the first time in a while that I thought less about my sister, and more about the state of community.

The good news is, it made me want to do my part. Despite a fear of rejection, I can always choose to be kind. I can be the one to smile at passers-by. I can give a compliment to a stranger. It costs nothing to be kind, yet it’s become such a rare thing.

On a positive note, it was great to see the event staff work as a fantastic team despite various people causing trouble, and the display was beautiful. I also got a chance to take more photos again.