Bonfire Night gone wrong – saw something that wasn't fireworks

Right, so this happened last November 5th in Lewisham, South London. Me and my girlfriend were watching the local fireworks from our flat balcony with a couple of mates. Cracking display it was, proper impressive.

Around 9:15pm, during a lull between sequences, I noticed this orange orb moving erratically across the sky - not like a balloon or drone, it was snapping between positions. Dead silent too. No sound whatsoever. My mate Dave said it was a weather balloon but honestly mate, I've seen those. This was different.

It hovered for maybe 8 seconds above the park, then just... vanished. Not descended, not moved off - switched off like a light. The three of us all saw it. I'm not one for jumping to conclusions but I'd love to know if anyone else in London spotted anything that night. My girlfriend thinks I'm mad.

Did you film it on your mobile? That's the first thing people ask these days innit. Not being funny, but without footage this is basically a campfire story. Still interested though - was the orange colour consistent or did it flicker?

November is peak season for these sightings actually. The dark nights combined with clearer skies (less haze) make witnesses more likely to spot things. I've got a spreadsheet going back to 1997 - lemme see if I can find similar reports from your area. What's your postcode (rough area is fine)?

I'm not one for jumping to conclusions but I'd love to know if anyone else in London spotted anything that night.

Mate, it was a Chinese lantern. I'm not being nasty, genuine answer. They're banned in loads of places but people still let them off illegally during fireworks season. They rise silently, move erratically in air currents, and when the fuel burns out they just drop and disappear from view against the night sky. Seen hundreds at bonfire displays.

The 'snapping between positions' detail is interesting. That's not consistent with lanterns or balloons. Suggests either: (a) your perception was affected by excitement/distraction, (b) it was something with directional thrust, or (c) you were observing something that behaves differently to conventional physics. I'm not saying aliens, but... report it to MUFON? They collate this stuff.