Skep the light fantastic

Are Northern Ireland's beekeepers going a little over the top with this skep-like structure? No, it's the eleventh night bonfire celebrations of Northern Ireland's loyalist communities as they prepare for the Twelfth of July parades day when Orangemen march to celebrate the defeat of Catholic King James II by Protestant King William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. (We'll quickly pass over the fact that the Pope was siding with King Billy because that's just far too confusing!)

 

Picture courtesy of the BBC.