a fairground life

Ups and downs this week, I got the non return for the set and fitted it. No go, I mean no go literally as the set wouldn't start. Its possible I didn't spend enough time bleeding it but I think its possible that the lift pump was not strong enough to open the valve on the suck side and yes I did have it in the correct way (big arrow on side). So in a fit of temper I removed it and tightened up the pipes into the new filter extra tight. The kind of tight you wouldn't apply normally incase you break something. Put it all back together and got the set started for 12:30pm, a whole hour after I started the job. As we opened I got my first 3 punters on the DZ. It wouldn't go either. I checked all brushes, cleaned all bands,checked all lap bar limit switches,check fuse box, relays, check brushes and clean bands again (at this point the ride was for sale at a knock down price) and finally found a suspect resistor with a heat mark on its body. So I went off to RS components for another while "R" scaled the tower and started removing the wiring connections to the bands. When I returned we fitted the new resistor, "r" had cleaned all band connections except two that had the access bolts rusted solid. We tried the ride---no go. So "r" went up with a hammer and chisel and removed the two seized bolts the old fashioned way. He cleaned the last two connections. We tried the ride and it finally went, 6 hours after we started on the thing. By the way the heat marked resistor is working fine. On the bright side, for the last two days the set has started without bleeding-that fit of temper on the filter housing has did the trick.

Today Prince Andrew came and visited the Clydebuilt Museum, there was a small army of security and Police with him (just out of shot in the picts). I don't know if it was a secret of if nobody was interested but the crowd was only about a dozen passers by. I bet Di would have pulled in the crowds. Then again Andy fought for his country during the Falklands. HE IS SECOND LEFT OF THE LAMP POST, FACING THIS WAY SHAKING HANDS.

a fairground life

Since last week I have fitted a new bellhousing to the skydiver pump. This was to reduce vibration coming from the pump motor coupling as it was running very very slightly out of line. I had ordered the part a couple of days before but it was unclear whether the bellhousing would be correct as the motor plate number did not correspond with the measurements I took. So after closing one night at 8pm we decided to fit it. We cut off the old mounting brackets, removed the piping and took the pump off. After a couple of measuring sessions with the tape we calculated that the motor end of the coupling would have to come forward 9mm. So out with the pulley draws to do this. "r" removed the retaining grub and we drew the coupling forward. We inserted the rubber spider and tried the bellhousing on. Yippee it fitted (good job we went with measurements instead of plate number) as I did have visions of welding all the old gear back on again. After an hour and half we tried it out. With the new arrangement we have zero vibration and at least a 30% reduction in motor noise, plus it looks professional, a success I would say.

As for the filter arrangement on the set its not as successful. The fuel seems to be running back, but its too quick to be an air leak in the piping. No I think the two filter arrangements are creating some kind of vacuum. So I fitted a new lift pump again just to be sure but it still needs bleeding in between start ups. So I'm gonna try a non return valve between the filters. Failing that I might try a loop in the fuel pipe. Now that's an idea!, I could extend the fuel feed pipe and run it higher than the engine then drop it down to the new filter, this way the fuel can't syphon back to tank, plus that would be cheaper than a valve! decisions decisions!

a fairground life

So all the kit is back together for the next few weeks. Last Monday was spent fixing a wiring problem in my mothers home. It took so long that "r" and I only got to erecting the Skydiver at 7pm. We only did half of it and knocked of at 8:30pm. The next morning I was at licensing court in Glasgow for the hearing of my application for a PE license for the River Festival. It started at 9:30 am with Taxi drivers and continued until mine came up at 11am. There were a few other showmen attending too for other events around the city. Its always a worry that the hearings are left to the last minute as any problems wont have time to be overcome. After that I headed out to finish the Skydiver with "r". The next day was his graduation and although the fair at the mall was supposed to open at 12 noon the Maimi and DZ were closed until 4pm when Mrs showman and I arrived. It was quiet, just as well cos at 5pm the DZ acted up. It wouldn't go again, similar to the SECC problem, but this time it was only a blown fuse in the control panel. I think I may have caused this myself changing a bulb in the carriage lights. So 20 minutes later it was all systems go. Thursday was quiet a good day but Friday rained heavy for most of the afternoon. At teatime the set chucked it, it was dirt in the lift pump. This is getting to be a problem now so I'm going to fit another fuel filter before the lift pump.Saturday seen the skydiver develop a hydraulic leak. A pump manifold blew off a fixing stud. It was a 5/16" Whitworth thread so I had to go and source one. Being Saturday afternoon every major supplier was closed so I ended up at Bills tool store down at the barras. They only had a small selection of whitworth but I managed to get something to fit. Meanwhile "r" was washing up the 20-25 litres of oil we lost. We were all systems go again for 3pm. I had travelled 25 miles, spent £5 of fuel and lost two hours trade plus hydraulic oil all for a 15p stud!!!

a fairground life (graduate)

Congratulations to "r" who graduated today from Strathclyde University as a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with Honours, BEng (Hon). 

We attended the "Barony Hall" for the ceremony, Mrs showman had me in suit and tie. The weather was scorching and with a few hundred people packed in to watch their offspring graduate the temperature rocketed. Everyone was sweating bullets for well over 90 minutes. That said it was something to see, all the pomp and ceremony including a Piper. As "r" was capped & hooded he walked back up the side aisle of the church and Mrs showman had many a tear in her eyes. When the show ended we caught up with him in the gardens of the campus were there was a Champaign reception. It was only then, when I saw him with his study mates & lecturers that I realised how he had been living two separate lives for the last four years. WELL DONE SON.

a fairground life (three wet in a row)

Three wet Saturdays in a row and three wet Galashiels Saturdays in a row too, thats three years in a row since 2007 that it has rained at Gala on the main day. There was also a music event on in a park nearby so as you might expect biz was well back on last year with the crunch piled on top of everything else. The rain fell as a fine mist all afternoon until about 5pm. After this it was too late as the families had all left. It was only the younger mob left and I do mean mob as by 10pm they were all full of god knows what and having running battles with each other. The five community wardens had did their best throughout the afternoon to keep the peace but by 9pm I reckon they either knocked off for the night or had just had enough and decided to let the rabble get on with it. The only police presence I seen was two officers on the fairground around 4pm. It was much quieter at the back of the fair where the DZ was positioned  and I never seen much of the troubles but at the front of the fair where the Miami was "r" and Mrs showman could easily see all the commotion as the youths ran riot from the waltzer up to the tagada. That said those rides didn't close until 11pm and by that time "r" and I had most of the DZ away and were about starting on the Miami. It was nearly 1am when we finished. Next day we left at 11am with the Miami and DZ heading into Glasgow. We dropped the rides off and I left "r" to erect the both of them himself (well he is a big boy) while I headed back for the trailers. That night at 7pm I picked him up and we headed off to Burntisland to get the show and Skydiver. He was well knackered by this time and it showed as we pulled the skydiver down. It was 11:20pm when we left the ground. I headed off in the skydiver while "r" took the show. About 50mins later I was near Larbet when the lorry began to die. I know it! bloody filter again, that's three filters since December about 500 miles. I must have the Diesel Bug. Anyway the cab wouldn't lift again, even with more oil put in the pump so I had to squeeze under the cab. I could feel the filter but couldn't turn it so I decided to knock it off with a hammer and chisel. Only problem was I couldn't see in the dark, then I remembered that a long time ago I had put a wandering battery light in the canopy of the generator. A few moments later after fumbling around inside the case of the set I had found it. I attached the wires to the battery terminals and hey presto, it still worked and shone brightly a whole 21w. Problem was that the 2m of wire wasn't long enough to reach were I wanted so I just let it dangle to the ground and luckily the faint glimmer was enough to work with. I tapped the filter round a bit then drove the chisel through the side and used it as a handle to twist the filter cartridge off. I spun on the new cartridge (primed with gas oil from the set, well needs must) and crawled out from behind the cab. Alas I packed away all the tools and light before I thought to look into the old filter to see if it was water that was the problem. This had all cost me the best part of an hour and it was 1am by now. "R" had taken the Forth road bridge route so had never passed me and was now sitting awaiting my arrival. Just before 2am I pulled onto the fairground. It was back to the house for a shower, meal and into kip for 3am.

a fairground life (newcastle)

We went to the Hoppings Fair today for a visit. A sign of the times is that the sellers on swag mans alley were few and their merchandise was even fewer. Also I've been told that 30 round stalls had given up their tober. This was plainly visible as there were large voids on the fair. The weather was hot, the earth was baked hard and the grass was completely worn away on some of the walkways so people were out in numbers just not spending. I've attached a few pictures, sorry that the TopBuzz video is sideways (how do you rotate video then???) but this ride is still impressive to watch in motion.

a fairground life

On Monday morning I was in Gala for 6:45 am. The ground was hard even after the previous nights rain fall. It was after 10am when the DZ was set on its plot. We erected this first before setting the Miami. There were a few light showers throughout the day but the weather turned nice at night. At 2:30 pm the miami was erected too, apart from attaching the weights. We headed off in search of a pipe. The engineer at Selkirk made a couple of calls and sent us to a chap in Bonchester Bridge. He had a small work shop but it was full of first class machinery. When we arrived he had already started the new pipe. Only five minutes later it was all finished. This chap does a lot of work for the forrestry chaps hence why he had the heavy duty hydraulic gear. An hour later we were back at Gala and the pipe was fitted. The ride was finished off and all systems seem go. Last night a few of the lads decided to have a party, live music from two guitar players come singers, strobe lighting, laser lighting, BBQ and beer. It sounded like (from my bed 50 yrds away) that it was going to be a real good night, only thing was 10 minutes in and the gig was cancelled when the boys in blue arrived due to a complaint. Maybe they over done it with two guitars or maybe it was just the awful singing?

Today was a real scorcher, like what summers used to be, not much chance of Gala getting messed up at this rate, but never say never.

a fairground life

It had been a short 18 years since I last attended Broxburn Gala. The fairground was on a different site then, which itself was a new site at the time as the fair had been moved onto several areas due to new development over the years. Back then it was the upright Paratrooper we operated. Presently we returned with the DropZone. This fair is much smaller than previous locations and the lessee did well to squeeze in as many attractions as he did. The DZ was a last minute booking and it went in edge ways to fit in a 20ft gap between the Waltzer and Superbob. As the Miami and Skydiver were open elsewhere I also had to hire a generator for the weekend. I did get built up though by tapping onto the Superbob set for an hour. Wednesday night was the first opening, the weather was fine and this turned out to be the best weeknight, no doubt due to it being cheap night. In between times we did a bit of visiting to Livingston to see a friends new purchase, a Tagada ride from Sweden (I think). Saturday started off with blistering sunshine but in a repeat of last week it quickly turned into heavy showers. As a result the gala was cancelled at 2pm. The fair did still hold good numbers until around 3pm when another heavy downpour almost cleared it. "r" called after 4pm to let me know that the Miami had a leaking pipe. It had developed a pinhole burst on the main motor hydraulic feed pipe. To avoid any chance of a full scale burst and oil spillage he closed the ride. At 9pm we were pulling down at Broxburn. I had to wait on the Superbob clearing its position before I could swing the tower around. For midnight I was pulled down. Sunday morning I was up at 7am to return the hire set to Glasgow before setting off for Galashiels. I met up with "r" later at Melrose and we managed to get the leaking pipe loosened. I did try to call out Hydrasun on their emergency line but there was no answer. I wondered if this was because it was fathers day or because it was Sunday or because their place is in Broxburn and its the morning after the Gala. Probably an accumulation of all three. Anyway we will have to sort it tomorrow after getting into Gala and building up. Passing by the ground I noticed that the tracking is laid at the gate, I hope it stays dry as we don't want a repeat of two years ago!

a fairground life

Two weeks to catch up on.

We arrived on the green at W, Linton on Tuesday afternoon. The sun was shining and the tober was rock hard. It didn't take long to set the loads as there were no changes from last year. "r" and I started on the skydiver first. It wasn't long before we had the ride set up. After a quick tea we erected the DropZone. While we had been doing these rides Blakey had set up his modern amusements. The weather was lovely, the Green was beautiful and it felt good to be out of Glasgow for a change.

Wednesday morning I raised the cab on the show lorry to see if I could find the boiling problem. Sure enough, a water mark down the side of the engine led me to a burst pipe. I took it off and headed for Edinburgh to get a replacement. Three hours and six stops later I finally got some pipe from Pirtek (hydraulics). By the time I got back to WL, "r" had arrived from Glasgow and a few minutes later the pipe was fitted. I wasn't sure if the burst pipe was the problem or the symptom but the next journey would probably tell.

Thursday and back to Glasgow to pick up the miami and take it out to the music event. The layout was different this time with the rides being split up and the miami was in duff tober. "r" and I set it up and headed back to WL for early afternoon. 

Friday, It was opening night tonight and at 7pm there were a lot of people around to watch the floats go by. Last year it rained and ruined biz but not this year and we enjoyed a fair nights trade. The marquee was in full swing until 2am when the music finally faded.

Saturday afternoon was quiet, my wife and "r" headed off to the music event at 2pm. I called them after 8pm, our fears had been realised with the miami being in duff tober and this reduced trade by 40%. I didnt get to sleep until 5am on Sunday morning until I knew that they were finished, the ride pulled down and moved away safely.

Sunday, quiet quiet quiet and as my wife arrived back, I immediately left to meet "r" at Selkirk. The fair was marked out prior and we erected the Miami right away. At 6pm we headed back to WL. That night and the next morning all the other gear would come in to Selkirk from Hawick.

Monday was a day off and we went on a short road trip down by Holy Isle to Berwick and on to Amble. 

Tuesday I called Kia in Edinburgh to order a section of intercooler pipe, that night we opened for the rugby tournament on the green and closed at 9pm."r" had left earlier with his trailer to go to Selkirk.

Wednesday I fitted the new pipe and yippee, no black smoke from the jeep as it kicks down. This night we opened for the pram race but it was poorly supported with only 5 entrants. In previous years there were so many prams that they had to race in heats.

Thursday back to Glasgow to set SE's miami at Back to the 80's gig.

Friday I spent the afternoons doing maintenance around the rides, a few bulbs, holders,wires and I also fitted a new hydraulic pipe to the floor rams.

Saturday morning was a heat wave then it was a wash out, by 2pm the sports day was cancelled, it was a long drag until we closed later after 9pm. The weather had knacked us again. The crew had turned up for the pulldown and we did the skydiver first. "r" arrived from Selkirk to help with the tower. For midnight we were all packed up.

Sunday morning 5:45am we were up. The rides were coupled first then we headed off to Burntisland with the skydiver. We pulled on site before 9am. It had been a good trip and also the show hadn't boiled so the pipe must have been the problem. Not wasting any time we built up the Skydiver and it was ready for opening shortly after noon. At that we left my father in law to look after it while "r" and I returned to WL to pick up the DZ. This ride we took to Broxburn.

a fairground life

We headed over to Drymen this afternoon to pick up skydiver. When I got there the gate on the field was locked. There was a car parked away over in the field. I walked thru the field upto where the ride was parked. All the marquees,fencing,etc etc were cleared away. I drove the ride down to the gate. I was going to cut the chain with the hacksaw but before I could a police car appeared, they had come to investigate the seemingly abandoned car. So one copper looked around the car whilst the other set off to get the keys to the field. About 20mins later the gate was opened and we were on our way. I pulled into the services at stirling and put in £140 in derv, "r" pulled in behind with the show and put £70 in that plus 3 gallon of water into the radiator!! For some reason the lorry was boiling, it was full when we left drymen 20miles ago. We headed off again and near Edinburgh we stopped and put another 3 gallon of water in the radiator. This time we kept going all the way to WL. We pulled into the ground and the tober was rock hard. I will check the radiator tomorrow to see if the water has dwindled or if it is going into the oil/ sump. There doesn't seem to be a leak so maybe the thermostat is stuck or the radiator blocked or maybe the fan is slipping???? Surely one of the above will cure the problem.

a fairground life

It was a mission for all involved, but we did manage to put on some kind of a fair. Friday morning and "d" had got the energy storm ride in on tracking. "jw" tried to move the miami in 1m to clear the path but couldn't do it. Mean while I flattened the ruts in front of the skydiver by repeatedly driving over them with the jeep. At 2pm "jw" took the ride out of the event to clear the path. He had sent for tracking. It came around 4pm, the miami came in again and eventually got set on the tracking. This is all said in a few sentences, but it took hours due to the ride getting stuck half in and half out of the gate,then having to be reversed along a roadway and up into the event field again so as to be facing the correct way. By 11pm that night the ride was finally erected. The sun did come and there were decent numbers at the event, although biz seemed slower. Again at pulling down most items needed towed out. I used part of the miami tracking to get the skydiver out and the tractor was used for some others. Even with the baking sunshine on friday and saturday the area was still soft underfoot.

a fairground life(rice pudding)

I left at 7am to get the first loads into Drymen. "r" is in Poland with uni pals so "m" an I are doing it all. The Skydiver was in Drymen for 9am. At 12pm we started to get set. After an hour we had the skydiver stuck just off the path. 2 hours later the tractor arrived to tow it. It managed to pull it back 20 ft to clear the path. The ride was now building up as landed, 45 degrees facing the wrong way. Next we tried to get the DZ in. The tractor towed it in but only 20ft in and it sank. The wheels were not even turning just dragging like a sledge. The tractor could not tow it out again but we got it out using a 6 wheeler on the path. With the dz out we changed angle and tried to come in down the hill. Again at 40ft in the ride sank, the tractor could not pull it in or drag it out, again a 6 wheeler on the path JUST managed to pull it out (after we dug the mud out from the front of the wheels). That was it we took it right out, end of for that ride. "d" tried to put the energy storm in on boards. It smashed thru them and promptly sunk. During all this I did get the skydiver built up but will have to do some gardening today. The ground is like a rice pudding, hard crust with mushy centre. At 8pm I brought the dz back to the yard last night, "d" is getting tracking today for the energy storm, I've had enough no dz this year.

a fairground life(worry)

Its been another busy week. I got into the mall a week gone Sunday. I built up the skydiver on Monday with "r". Tuesday I was all day in the (Scottish) section offices as part of the committee for a meeting. Wednesday "b" and I were up at 4:30am to catch a flight to London for a Tribunal hearing of our complaints regarding other members conduct. So we were in Staines at Guild House for 10am. Unfortunately thing were running late (as usual) and we didn't get into the hearing until 2pm. So we argued our case with our opponent arguing his position. The matter is decided by a Barrister with two ex presidents (of the Guild) to advise. How we fared I do not know at this time, but it doesn't matter if you fight and lose, it only matters if you don't fight at all! Thursday we opened at the mall, I was tired from the day before's activities and closing time couldn't come quick enough. Friday at 5pm and we headed off to Bellshill with the DZ and Miami. Again we got on the street at 6pm, but this time there was a curtailment of ground due to paving work. Some tenants even lost their tober altogether. Since the street was dug up and a new oneway system installed, we had to reverse the DZ and Miami onto the street after turning them up a side street. This was the only way to get them onto the plots facing the correct way for setting up. At 9pm we were heading home again. Saturday at 11am we opened. Biz was poor but the fair did look better with the new layout, basically squashing everything up into one end. At 7:30pm we closed, that's how quiet it was. Sunday we opened at 12pm and closed at 6pm. The football may have hindered the turn out and again biz was poor. Monday was no better and at 6pm we started to pulldown. Right on cue the heavens opened up and we got wet into the bargain. The DZ was last off the street as we had wasted half an hour waiting on other equipment getting out our way before we could lower the tower. "r" and I were just leaving as three local neds walked by and bib us a fond farewell with the taunt of-"aye yer shows are sh_t_!" We were back at the yard for 9pm. Up this morning and back out to the mall to pull down the skydiver, again intermittent showers plagued us. The real problem is that the next gaff-Drymen is in danger of being cancelled due to the rain. I hope not, even if it is re scheduled for August, I need the income now! Its a worry. Oh by the way "b" has knacked the Net (top half of ride) lorry on the Dodgem, I don't know the exact details but it could be a big end or con rod!!! So Hawick for him may be iffy???

a fairground life(40s a magic number)

I called a few tyre suppliers for quotes on the miami tyre, an odd size 275 x 70 x 22.5 . The prices ranged from £170-£320, what a difference! I decided to go for a dealer that quoted me £186 inc vat, not because he was the cheapest but because he had one in stock and he was the closest. So "r" took the blow out off, we stuck it in the pick up and off we went. On arrival at the depot we bumped into the owner, he knows a lot of showmen and offered me a part worn tyre instead. In two minds I had a look at it and it was nearly new, it had only been in for a puncture repair, plus it was only £40 now that's what Dickinson would call a "Bargain". Later in the afternoon I called fatso to see if he had paid my debt for the brake chamber. Good to his word he had been in and settled up with the head mechanic. I asked in trepidation how much? OHHHH! he said, it was dear, £40 for cash! Now that was a lot cheaper than I could have got the chamber for. So 40 is my magic number today and as I've said before- a penny saved is a penny earned!

a fairground life

It has been interesting the last two weeks. I enjoyed my time at Langholm, my father used to come in the 60s, but this was my first time to open there. The miami (different time of year) had been there before with J Collins (the previous owner). The small fair consisted of waltzer,miami,arcade,2 juveniles,stall and a snack bar.The majority of the local kids were polite. There were a few teen drinkers the first weekend and a couple from a nearby village had to be dealt with, however they did not return for a second helping. The weather was mostly unkind and business was poor as a result. The fair was advertised from opening as  £1 all rides, but this didn't seem to help (and my fuel costs were still full price). There are a couple of good scrapyards nearby and I did enjoy perusing them and picking up a couple of bargains ( airline hose and munitions casing now used to store welding rods in). Biz was quiet this Saturday. "r" was open in Dumbarton with the DZ. It was raining there too but he was still doing better than me. He finished at 6pm and started to pull the DZ down. Looks like he can go solo now. I started to pulldown at 8.30pm on Saturday night. When I coupled the Foden under the trailer I noticed the air pressure dropping. I got out and discovered the front axle near side brake chamber was leaking. Now where was I gonna get one of those for Sunday morning??? I made a few calls and a friend in Silloth had one but I would have to go and take it off in the morning. Another Showmen TH suggested that I stop at Armstrongs Haulage en route and ask the head mechanic. It made sense as I would have to pass them anyway. I also tried MAN /ERF in Carlisle just in case they had a 24h service desk, no such luck (my grandad always said Carlisle was a graveyard with lights! sorry, but that's what he said). So up in the morning at 6:45 and away. By 7:15 I was standing in Armstrongs yard. It was Sunday morning and as you might expect it was deserted, but then I spied a cab door move away at the bottom of the yard. I walked down and met a man standing next to a Jag. I explained who I was and what I was looking for and that local showmen had suggested I pop in. The chap told me that the head mechanic was not in. I asked if he knew of any motor factors that would be open in Carlisle. He replied not likely, but suggested we take a look in the stores. It turned out I was talking to Mr Armstrong himself, a few minutes later we found a new brake chamber on a shelf in the small store room. I asked him what I owed him for it, "I wouldn't know what to charge, just take it", he said and "phone in tomorrow to get the price". Since he new the local showmen well, he told me just to get them to sort it out and I could see them later. He would not even take a deposit, I know we are not all angels but its good to see that showmen in the majority have a good reputation with people they deal with. So I have left money with "fatso" so he can clear my debt and I will sort out the difference with him later. I headed right back to Langholm and started to fit the chamber. There was a slight hitch in that the old chamber was imperial and the new metric, but fatso got out his box of odds and ends. We found one length of threaded pipe about 40mm long. I cut it into two and improvised a couple of adapters, I even mocked up a couple of "O" rings to make a good seal. It took about 4 hours in total by the time I nipped up both front axle chambers and made other minor adjustment to the chamber. I tried it and yippee no leaks. So off we headed for Glasgow, all the way I was expecting a hose to blow off or something, but all was fine until I turned the corner into the yard. BOOM! I jumped out to have a look and could hear air hissing. Not another one, I thought, expecting to see a blown chamber or pipe. No, this time it was a blow out, literally right at the gate of the yard. So tyre hunting tomorrow.

a fairground life

I'm down in deepest darkest Langholm, no mobile internet not even my mobile phone will work. So this is only a quick blast to let everyone know I'm still alive while I was in Carlisle getting supplies. I was back in Glasgow yesteray, but only long enough to set up the DZ in Dumbarton for the Scottish pipe band championships. It was a glorious hot sunny day, just as well as the pitch was a lovely grass park (just a pity its as level as the side of a mountain). The rain is falling in buckets today, it won't bother the tober here as it is a car park, but we really need the sun to shine tomorrow in Dumbarton. Back up the road on Sunday to civilisation, well at least mobile communications.

a fairground life

The last few weeks have seen the miami develop a severe oil leak from the hydraulic motor shafts. The oil was being pushed out of the shaft seals and dripping down the front panels. This had started off as an intermittent problem over a year ago but now had reached the point of needing to be addressed. The motor that I had serviced in the shed last year was the main culprit and I had fitted several new shaft seals over the last couple of years to try and solve the problem. I can't believe how easy a fix the problem actually was when JM told me what the problem would be (he is one clever guy), no need to remove the motors or have parts machined etc etc. It turned out that the drain line from the motor had become clogged and this led to a pressure build up in the motor casing that resulted in the oil pushing its way out through the shaft seal. All I did was put on a second drain line with a bigger bore back to tank. Cheap too, total cost £17.50. The last two days have seen nil oil drips from the motors and I can tell you I am VERY pleased. I also tweeked the drive mechanism today by cutting a massive 1mm off of the dynex lever to adjust the parking position speed, minute adjustments indeed. Hope the weather holds out until Monday..

a fairground life

The last few days have been busy. 

Friday morning I went and got the tyres fitted to the jeep, all the diff problems have disappeared. To say I'm happy would be an understatement. The rest of the day was spent doing minor jobs around the equipment. Over 30 this week for me and "r" has completed a few others too, including touching up the Foden paint, washing all the lorries and waxing the cabs, repairing some loose earth wires on the taillights and more. Not bad when you think he is still attending Uni.

Saturday started off quiet, a long lie in before starting a few jobs and fuelling up the lorries for moving this weekend. At 5pm however I got a call from my father in law. He and his wife had went up to Granton on Spey to a caravan site for the weekend. From there they were touring all the towns and villages they used to travel when they were first married. Unfortunately whilst out with the car they were victims of a bad driver. They had to swerve to avoid colliding with this other car and in the process damaged theirs. They had hit the kerb, broken the near side wish bones, coils springs, tyres and discs. The other driver quickly sped off before they could do anything. So when the dust settled they got the RAC to uplift there damaged car and drop them back at the caravan site in Granton on Spey. I drove up to take them and their caravan home while the RAC took the car away for repair (unless it written off). So at 9pm we set off from Granton. The jeep was quarter full and I thought this would get me to Perth where I could re fuel. Wrong, by the time I was approaching Pitlochry the red light was on. It was 10:20pm and I pulled of the A9 into the town to get fuel. The garage was closed and I also knew that the next two garages in Dunkeld & Birnam were closed too. Luckily we have friend in Pitlochry who keep Derv in their garage for such emergencies. An hour later with 20lts we set off for Glasgow again. It is strange that in this day and age there are no 24hr service stations between Aviemore and Perth, also there are no A9 service stations directly off the A9, you always have to  drive into small towns for local services that close early. I tell you we were close to spending the night on the A9.

When we finally got down to Dunblane (after midnight) there was a patrol car sitting on the roundabout. A few minutes later he pulled me in to the hard shoulder. He asked if I knew why I was being stopped. I told him yes, because the trailer number plate doesn't match the jeeps. He asked why this was and my father in law explained. He took my details which he undoubtedly already knew before he let us go on our way again. At the back of 1am we were finally back home.

Monday, the tenants of Burntisland summer fair met in the Scottish sections guild office to discuss issues of this years fair. It was a meeting of a few hours that covered items such as fencing ,stewarding, promotions and advertising.

Tuesday, attended a meeting of the Scottish section committee, I didn't get home until 7pm.

Wednesday, attended a meeting on behalf of the Scottish section at Bradford in the Yorkshire sections offices.Drove 470 mile round trip.

a fairground life (eco or not eco that is the question)

Today's mission was to sort out the Kia's problem. So at 9am I drove it down to the mechanic who MOT's our cars. We took it for a spin then we put it up on his ramp. His conclusion was a distribution box problem but suggested I took it around the corner to the automatic transmission specialist (who repaired my mothers old Pajero twice) for his opinion. So I did, luckily he was in and remembered me, so we took it for a spin. He too put it up on his ramp but this time he stripped off a flange mounting plate on the distribution box and put in over a litre of oil. Confident this would surely solve the problem we took it for another spin. Alas it was just the same, possibly due to the damage already being done??? Not giving up here I took it to East Kilbride to a diesel specialist there (who also had done work on my mothers old Pajero). He too was in and remembered me, but this time he could not help as he only worked on the diesel fuel injection side of things. He did offer a few words of wisdom-DONT BUY A KIA SEDONA and I should consider getting rid of my Sorento. Feeling less confident than this morning I headed off to the nearest Kia service centre for answers. I arrived at Parks in East Kilbride, the service centre was busy and after a few minutes I was front of the queue at the Kia desk. The chap was sympathetic, "if only you had kept up the service history" he said, "maybe we could have gotten Kia involved". Aye right I thought, as the car was out of warranty time by a whole year! Anyhow for £60 plus VAT they would diagnose the problem. This seemed a waste as I already new the problem was the diff winding up and it was coming from the distribution box! So I took their number and headed off home a little dismayed. Now this is where Mrs Showman comes in handy, she always seems to say the things that are too simple to be the answer, but always seem to come thru! "Why don't you phone the man from the garage where we bought the car" she said. Doing it to get peace rather than answers I did. The service chap came on and told me very confidently that my tyre tread depths were out of range. No more than 3mm tread depth difference between tyres. So not having too much faith in this I needed to test the theory before forking out hundreds on new rubber. I decided to borrow tyres to try out the theory. I knew I could not get 18" alloys anywhere, but I decided to get everyone else's brand new spares. So I took my bro's,mothers, Blakey's and mine. Four brand new tyres (245/70 17") all with the same tread depth. Over an hour later I had fitted the 4 new wheels to my jeep. Blakey and I took it for a run. Was it a wasted effort? Immediately we were out the yard and stopping at the first corner, I knew it had worked!, No whining noise, no shudder from the diffs dis-engaging. So I promptly ordered the other 2 new tyres I would need to balance my tread depths between front and rear. It is wasteful but, my two front tyres are only at 50%, a good 6 months life left in them, but I have to ditch them for new ones. The ironic situation is that I would have been better off financially by fitting two part worn tyres to the rear way back in December!!! In this world of eco friendly recycling and minimal waste to save the planet- some idiots designed a drive system that can't cope with  odd sized tyres to zero point 5 percent (0.5%) of their diameter!!! 

But hey- problem solved, mission accomplished. Wait a minute, may be I got it wrong, maybe this is an eco friendly car cos you are only meant to fit part worn tyres?

a fairground life

All the equipment is in the yard at the same time, I can hardly believe it. I've been taking full advantage of this (and the sunshine) the last 3 days doing all those wee jobs that never make it to the top of the list. I drained the tank on the EC10 and the diesel looked fine, the water and dirt that came out of the bottom was very minimal, not even 1/2 a pint so what's the verdict on the diesel bug?Hey I though bio diesel was meant to be cleaner thru the engine so how come it is more corrosive??? I got the cab tilt working again, it only needed topping up. On a different note the miami was running crab after me replacing that bush & spring. When I measured the axles centre to centre there was a 16mm difference between off & near side."r" and I tried always to re align the axle by loosening the spring's U bolts and pulling with a strap, but no go. In fact somehow we made it worse to 25mm difference. At that the only solution I could see was to cut the torsion bar on one side, then pull the axle into alignment, mark the torsion bar again and cut the remainder out. So 9" grinder later we had removed 20mm  then I welded it all up again. It looks good on the tape but I'll only really know when we are out on the road. My Kia's diff is making a whining noise again, I had a look under and I'm sure its lack of oil in the distribution box, but I can't see anywhere to replenish it, mind you it was lucky I looked because two shaft bolts were so slack I could turn them with my fingers!!! Just made the last payment too and I really needed this year off to try and get the overdraft down. Hope I can solve this cheaply. 

As for Blakey, he's been painting painting and painting his wee machine chassis. A nice colour of Hammerite Black which is in fact GREY???? Anyhow it looks pretty good.

Blakey's Blog (interrupted by showmans travels)

It was a lovely sunny day today, a perfect day for pulling down. At 6pm we started, the crew had arrived from Falkirk and "r" &"s" got right into the skydiver while "w" and I tackled the show. After that (35 mins) I moved onto the miami while "w" helped "r" finish off the skydiver. The miami came down well and only had the packing to pick up when I moved onto the DZ. I thought that by lowering the tower before the team came down from the skydiver I would give them a head start. Sure enough, as the tower dropped the last couple of inches onto the cradle they arrived from completing the skydiver. Another hour later and we were already for the road. "r" wanted to take the DZ so I could take the skydiver and listen for the bump bump bump. I'm pleased to say it seemed A ok. The new hub,wheel nuts , studs etc etc had cured that. Lucky for "r" he did take the DZ because as I crossed the Kingston Bridge the engine started to die. I knew instantly -filter or lack of fuel. I pulled into the hard shoulder and dipped the tank. It showed a quarter of fuel, so filter it is. It took me a few minutes to find the spare. Then the cab would not tilt (probably lack of oil) so I squeezed in behind the front wheel. I struggled to remove the filter, then realised I was turning it the wrong way! Sure enough when I finally got it off it was thick with gunge. That is the second filter in about 130 mile (going to secc in Dec). That means the tank needs cleaned out. Probably after effects of the East Kilbride saga way back in August. Any how I have only travelled about 14 mile and have created another two jobs-good job the yard isn't further away.

As for Blakey's Blog--well you lot seem very pleased to see him back. The only good thing about him being back is that it implies he was away in the first place. And his story of knocking in a couple of fence posts is no where near as exciting as my traveling escapades. Don't encourage him, lord knows he doesn't need any.(and if you hadn't bought a mutt- you wouldn't need a fence!!!)

A fairground life

So the big news last week was how the homecoming music event at Irvine was cancelled. Even bigger news to me, as I had 2 rides booked up for it. Luckily I have a fall back option, but maybe not so lucky for the other 8 rides booked to attend. I told you all in Januarys posts, that 09 would be an unlucky year. Anyhow we finish here Sunday, a week in the yard then out again, only not to Irvine as previously planned.

a fairground life

Sorry its a bit dark, I took it on my phone. 

I'm a bit out of touch with the kids cartoons today. I wonder if they know of  yogi, the flintstones or sylvester and tweetie??? "r" did the bugs on the front its very good and impressed me that he had hidden artistic talents. Need to do the top up now. Probably a re-colour and maybe some vinyl stickers instead of painting onto the PV material.

Easter was very quiet for us too, every one must have been at the sea side. Pity KLM wasn't last week eh? Not much happening, spending a lot of time on paper work for coming events, at least  I'm feeling the benefit of my mobile b/band. Everything working well (don't jinx it) , only had a couple of tack welds to do as repairs, one on a speaker hinge the other on a motor bracket. Closed next week, but have plenty of wee jobs to do unless find a last minute gaff. Replaced 1 weekend of the time capsule, just working on the other now.

a fairground life (264 easy payments)

I've lived in the house for six months now. I love it, she hates it with a vengeance. Not the house its self ,but the life style of it. When at the house you are away from all that you have grown up with, being in a yard surrounded by familiar faces in close proximity.No one popping in for a quick chat or cuppa. There is also the security of the yard, no one enters without a reason and there is no passing traffic by your door. Our house neighbour had his house broken into while he was inside sleeping, they took his cars keys and stole both cars from his drive!!! It is also a bit harder being in the house due to the fact that during down time the rides are no longer parked outside and this means commuting to do any small maintenance jobs. I myself miss walking around to Blakey's to watch his Sky, drink his beer and eat his biscuits (even if he's at home or not). In fact since I left the yard he doesn't buy beer anymore! (and if he told the truth he would say he misses me too). But surely the benefits must out weigh these annoyances. Six months and I've never changed a gas tank, filled the kerosene tank, had to defrost the water supply or empty the WC tank, BLISS!  And I'm sure that if I keep it long enough (depending on making those pesky mortgage payments) it will eventually come back upto the value that I paid for it 24 months ago. I should have known that the market would crash as soon as I got on the ladder.

So I do feel like I have achieved something, worked hard enough for all these years to get myself into mega debt, but I don't think it will stop the NEDS calling me a gypo. Only another 264 easy payments and it will be mine.

a fairground life

If ever I needed a reminder of how frail this business is, it came today. A phone call to say that the Timecapsule fair is cancelled in Coatbridge. The swimming pool is being done up and the contractors are using the car park for storing their container bodies in. Unfortunately for us that means 2 weekends closed. The funfair organiser did try for an alternative site but 3 complaints from local bodies put paid to that. I've been on the phone most of the afternoon trying to dig something up but the fact is we are too many and events too few (at this time of the year anyway).

Now where did I put that old UB40?

a fairground life

   Went to start the (generator) set yesterday. It spun & spun & spun but did not kick up. I changed the filter, no go. I tried the lift pump to no avail. So I put it on a 1 gallon can  to gravity feed the injection pump. It ran for about a minute until the gallon was used (it had no return line to it). This was only to confirm the problem was indeed the lift pump. Luckily the local supplier had a replacement on the shelf. So off I went to pick it up. I returned an hour later and had the replacement fitted in a few minutes. I turned the key and the engine growled to life, perfect timing as the rain started to fall and fall. Oh well.

Got the tyre for the jeep this morning so we will be back to full transport now. I have been sharing the pick up with "r" and begging lifts from everyone else.

Biz is very very quiet.

a fairground life( ying and yang)

Yesterday afternoon the other skydiver lightbox went down too. So the ride was almost in total darkness apart from the coloured spot banks (AKA traffic lights). While I was trying to determine the problem, which turned out to be a loose connection, I had pulled a wire out of a small transformer on the logic board. So a quick surf of the net revealed that this was a "sub miniature transformer, mains input,100 ma load, 9v-0-9v" (great thing this internet) and Maplin around the corner had 1 in stock. This I picked up at 10am this morning. While en-route,  I had a discussion with "r" about the top light box (10x4 matrix). I told him a story about how 25 years ago me and "bk" had reversed the ribbon cable inside by mistake one day and that this resulted in no lights working". OH! he said, I had the ribbon cable off by mistake and thought it would only go back on one way. Well not being too optimistic, "r" reversed the cable while I fitted the new transformer to the other light box. "Hallelujah"(hope thats not a racist remark these days), not one but two working light boxes! A few minutes later the cosmic balance was restored when my wife called and told me that she had a blow out on the jeep. One of those expensive new tyres that I put on in December. The spare is back on and yes the diffs are winding up again, top speed 10 mph!!! So I've ordered in another for Monday. I almost thought Kia's were perfect.

a fairground life

Again up and away for 9am. I took the tyre to get the disc swapped over. While that was being done I nipped away for more aluminium paint then picked up some bulbs for the top of the Tempest. The sun was splitting the sky today and we started on the top lights of the skydiver ride. Already the day started bad, the running light box was frozen on with all lights illuminated at once. "r" opened it up and spotted a blown triac. I had none spare so nipped away to RS components to get some. Meanwhile "r" painted the rest of the floor. I came back with the triacs and promptly fitted one. We put the power on again to try it out----NOTHING,NIL,NADA,ZERO,ZILCH not even a flicker. For the last 27 years I have patched this thing up and kept it going, but today after 6 solid hours it's got me beat. There is power in, the transformer rectifier is producing 12v DC for the logic controller, there is no visible signs of any damage. I even tried a spare set of EPROMS I had. Looks like I bought those new bulbs in vain. Maybe the tooth fairy will fix it tonight?

"r" put on the lorry tyre and did numerous other small jobs while I was tinkering inside the RL box. At 8:40pm we headed home and put out the ad billboards en route. 

a fairground life

9am. Off to ERF's, well MAN now, to see about the hub. After getting nowhere fast, due to un enthusiastic counter service and being told "sorry ours internet is down", I headed off to a nearby breakers yard. He had nothing in suitable so I made a call to another breakers in Bathgate. He told me I would have to bring in the old hub as a sample as there were too many to choose from. Back to the mall to strip off the old one. In the daylight it was easy to see that the centre cap did knock out. Using a cold chisel I removed the two bearing nuts. The hub slid off very easy. Forty five minutes later I was at Bathgate searching through a good selection of front axles. We found two to choose from so I picked the one with the best looking wheel studs. Another forty five minutes of hammering and we were heading back to the mall. The only difference between the two hubs was that mine had ABS brakes, so I tapped off the serrated sensor ring and knocked it onto the replacement hub. Twenty minutes later the lot was fitted back on the lorry. I have to say the job looks a "good un". Only the tyre disc to sort out tomorrow, Fatso has given me one he had laying on the yard, all I have to do is get the tyre changed over. 

The rest off the day was spent painting the skydiver boom and the floor. I had to stop at 8:30pm cos the light was failing and I had ran out of aluminium paint. Start again tomorrow.

a fairground life(a stich in time...)

 Well were back at the mall for Easter. All equipment was moved on site Sunday night. The miami suspension seemed ok but it did run out of line by about 4-6 inches so I will have another go at aligning the spring hanger, well I'll have to check the U bolt nuts anyway. Alas though we did not get to the ERF front bump bump in time. "r" was driving it in and when he arrived I noticed that the wheel nuts were slack (assume from the bump bump) and had knacked the tyres disc, wheel studs and the hub on the lorry. The lips that catch the centre of the disc were worn down. "r" in his inexperience had not stopped to inspect the bump bump when it had got louder. Any how it was my fault for not getting to the problem sooner. So tonight after erecting the rides we stripped off the wheel. One stud was stripped and turning in the hub so we had to cut this off with the 9" grinder. Unfortunately this was also the stud that held the stainless wheel cap on, so this got destroyed too. With the wheel off we then removed the brake drum. The shoes were like new. We spun the remaining part of the hub, the part with the 9 remaining studs on it. Although there was no noise or slap or movement it did seem to run slightly wobbly. By about 2-3mm of wobble. Could this cause the bump bump? had the lorry been kerbed and buckled the hub? When I first inspected the lorry way back in December regarding the bump bump, I had thought it was slack wheel nuts, but they seemed tight. Were they in fact slack, with the tyres disc moving on the hub behind but the wheel nuts seized on the studs giving the illusion that they were tight??? Is it a faulty tyre (egged or with a flat spot) that has slackened the wheel nuts over the last few journeys due to the bump bump??? Or is it another fault that was too dark to spot tonight? I will have to take the final part of the hub off, I assume that there is a big castle nut under the dome in the centre but in the poor light it did look like all one piece. If only we had got to the problem sooner we could have saved about 90% of the damage.

a fairground life(spring replacement)

At 6:30pm we started to pull down. It was an easy night as only half the kit was up. We did the miami first and then onto the DZ. The rain started to fall as it got dark, I didn't feel it coming down, but against the glare of the spot lights the rain drops were clearly visible. Just prior to 9pm we left with the miami. I was taking it back to the yard to fix the spring. I had sourced a replacement from a scrapyard on Friday. I carefully drove off, very conscious that only one leaf was holding the middle trailer axle weight. On 10pm we were in the yard and set. The next morning we moved the DZ and on return to Glasgow "r" and I started on the spring replacement.

When I got under I could see that the other leaf had broken too during the journey. Luckily the broken ends had stayed put and jammed against the chassis to take the weight. Using the 3/4" socket set with extension bar we removed all the nuts from the U bolts, rebound bolts and torsion bar. Then using the rides hydraulics we lifted the ride up and away from the axle. It was still a tight squeeze under there but we jiggled the old spring out. The replacement was a good 8" longer so we trimmed it with the 9" grinder. It took about 20 mins to get it back into position. During the re build I noticed the torsion bar bush was kapute, so while "r" was tightening up the U bolts I nipped off to get another. That was easier said than done, a day later we got the replacement but to get the torsion bar to line up I had to drop the axle again!!! Any way it's all back together now.

As for the show, its 99% done. All I need is a dry day to varnish the paybox. It will take a day just to pick up all the rubbish laying about. Its funny how much debris is created when you start working.

a fairground life

The painting is still on going, the structure is done but now I'm doing the characters that decorate the panels. The work has also been interrupted by doing repairs on the miami. The footbrake valve has been replaced but I can't test it out as the batteries are removed from the lorry to get tested. It turned out that one was knackered. I also found a leaking brake cylinder hose on the trailer. This was also replaced but while I was under there I noticed a leaf on a spring cracked so that is another job. I did get the ride's spotlights repaired. Four were replaced altogether and a fifth was patched up from components out of one of the four removed. After that I took advantage of the sunshine and painted the floor. 

a fairground life

The weather has been unkind the last few days with intermittent showers. So it has taken longer to get the roof painted in preparation for re fitting the inflatable top. Those wet days were spent working inside the show instead. All the interior staircases were removed, as was some panelling and flooring. It was all rotten from the previous years of getting wet (usually on a Saturday afternoon when we were trying to get a few clods in). Any how I decided to beef it all up a bit and manufactured the new staircase frames from "L" iron. That will surely last longer than timber. "R" was not at uni today and with his help we finally got the top inflatable part of the show fastened back into position. A few days ago we raised this back up from the ground onto the lorry cab roof. That took 5 of us to do that and it was hard work (I was almost going to ditch it all together it was that heavy). Not much structural work left to do, then it will be paint paint paint.

a fairground life (roofing2)

All the lorry roof on the show has been replaced with new 18mm plywood. It should last longer than the previously used "chipboard". The sheets were attached today in a couple of hours. The only hiccup was when I forgot what I was doing, missed my stepping and put a foot and leg through the thin fibreglass sheeting I was covering. I fell through the roof up to my right thigh. No injuries luckily but it did put another 30 mins on the job while I repaired it with fibre glass patches and resin. The rain came shortly afterward and that was the sign to knock off. If it's dry tomorrow I will get it painted ready to re attach the inflatable top.

a fairground life (roofing)

The music event was better than last years episode. No doubt due to the change in layout. All went off without any hitches. We left the ride on site until the next day before we moved to the yard. I did pick up that new footbrake valve and although it was the correct one there had been a mix up with the pricing and it cost a bit more than quoted. A genuine mistake. I have moved the show into Glasgow to do some repair work. The roof is leaking and needs re-covered with ply wood. It was originally done in chipboard which has now turned to mush. It is probably about a weeks work but I'm sure I can spin it out a bit longer. Did do a couple of hours graft today removing most of the chipboard and taking it to the re-cycling depot. Will arrange for materials to be delivered on Monday to carry on with the job.

a fairground life (friday the 13th aaaaaaargh!))

I didn't realise the date until a friend give me a call and reminded me. That was after he passed me on the side of the road while I was sitting in the back of a Police car. Oh I wasn't auditioning for Britain's most wanted or doing anything wrong, it was just time to pay my "Vanity Tax". You know, the fee you pay when you are booked for tweeking you private reg with the strategic placement of the fastening screw head. So there I was being told by the officer how my number plate could not be read by an automated camera because of that rouge screw head. However it did strike me funny that at 90 mph, on a dark road, in rain that same camera could read a similar number plate with correctly positioned screw heads, AMAZING! So £30 quid later my vanity tax is up to date and I'm on my way again. The day got worse from there. The Backflash lights on the miami just tripped off every time I tried to put them on and the strobe light had lost its flicker, frozen on like a solid xeon (pronounced zenon) spotlight. Many hours later and I finally got some backflash illumination working by removing all the fuses and replacing them one by one to track down the culprit channel. This was of course after climbing all around the ride and inspecting all possible connections, plugs, wiring etc etc to no avail. So 5 out of 6 channels will have to do for tomorrow night. As for the strobe, I took it home and thawed it out on the hall radiator. Its working for the moment but time will tell. On a positive note I did get that wiper blade fitted, the hinge repaired and ordered the foot brake valve. I hope its the right one.

a fairground life (start again)

 I went and picked up the miami from the yard this morning and moved it to the music event venue. On arrival at the yard the snow was falling heavier, or at least seemed to be as it was 1/4 of an inch thick already. This was probably due to the ground being frozen from previous days and not receiving the benefit of salt from any gritters. This give me a sense of urgency to get moving and a perception that the conditions were worse than they actually were. The lorry batteries were low even though I had removed a battery terminal three weeks ago. It must have helped though as they only needed the charger on for a few moments before the engine grunted into life.

The icy conditions made my fingers so cold that I drove with my elbows and kept my hands clasped over the wheel. One wiper blade tore a bit as I switched them on. I was nearly half way through my journey before I noticed that the heater fan was switched OFF. Any how on arrival at site the snow had turned to fine rain. I got the ride set on position and started to erect it. A heavy down pour, broken hinge, loose wire and two hours later I was built up. It amazes me every time how you can pack something away perfect but when you bring it back out there is a list of repairs. Tomorrow I will repair the hinge and change the wiper blade. I hope the weather clears for the weekend but I think its gonna get worse. (there's a thing, my spell checker recognises the word "gonna"???? between texting and American Microsoft spell checking the written English language has no chance. No wonder the kids today can't spell. In fact they can't count either. It surprises, NO!, it P's me off every time they hand me a hand full of coins and ask, "mister do I have enough to get on?" and that is from teenagers!) Any way I'm glad to have done a bit of graft today, hopefully I will get a goods night kip from it.

a fairground life (feet up)

The weather the last two weekends killed any chance of scraping up a few quid before everything is packed up until Easter. The heavy rain was bad enough but the gale force winds put the top hat on it. We didn't have them problems in the secc, every day was exactly the same climate wise and it doesn't take long to get soft, so the wind and rain felt doubly icy. I had planned to do wonders this week, but as usual the plans didn't materialise and it wasn't all the weathers fault either. Its been a long season and we are well into extra time, its time to get it all packed away. Saturday was a nightmare, the wind was gusting at around 50 mph and we had to close early. I was thankful we weren't pulling down that night, not that we would have been able to in those conditions. Sunday started off wet and quickly got worse as heavy snow fell. An hour later and the weather cleared again, but not for long. We struggled on until 5:30pm when we chucked the towel in. The crew arrived to help "r" on the skydiver while I did the miami. I was just lowering the back flash as a freak gust came. Another few second earlier and it could have been nasty as all the securing irons were all removed. Shortly before 8:30 pm we were finished, the skydiver was coupled up but not the miami. We were soaked through and I decided to call it a night. The next morning we arrived to finish off. All went well except for the batteries on the Foden being totally flat. The 420A charger was employed to start the lorry, it took several attempts and fuse replacements before we succeeded. The trip to the yard was thankfully uneventful, the ERF ec10's bump bump bump returned on the front wheel. I think 'ss' is correct about it being brake related as when I braked it went away. I'll get the hub off for a look one day. I parked the rides up along side the DZ which had been put away the week before. Job done for another season, I'll get my feet up for a couple of weeks and then it will start all over again.

a fairground life (oh,what another day!)

Arrived early this morning to check out another suspected ball race failure. After 3 hrs we had inspected all races and they were fine. So far so good. However when we opened at noon the ride wouldn't go! We re-traced all the obvious steps but to no avail. Just out of pure luck the previous owner from London was in the secc to help his brother pack up tonight with another ride. He pointed out a 'rectifier' that they had had problems with on another ride (not the dz). So we managed to borrow a replacement rectifier from the ghost train as they use them. Sure enough with the new rectifier fitted, a suspect fuse jiggled and a 30v ,1 watt bulb replaced the ride finally worked. So we though to try our old rectifier again in case it wasn't the problem in the first instance. NO GO, so we refit the borrowed one again, the wrong way around and blew it sky high along with two fuses. Cap in hand we borrow another rectifier from the ghost train and carefully put it on. Yippee! 4 hours late but we are finally open. 

Thank you to everyone who helped out, especially IS who had experience from owning this exact type ride until earlier this summer. 

Only a few hours to go then we will be pulling down. Hope to be out of here before 1am all going well.

a fairground life (oh,what a week!)

What a week, hope the rest of the year isn't as unlucky. 

1st and I notice a click from the DZ whilst the ride climbs. "r" concludes it a ball race again, similar to the problem in August.

2nd we arrive early in the morning and lower the tower over the speedbuzz. Soon after we have the suspect ball races out and although they looked ok on first glance, as soon as "r" removed one it crumbled. So we replaced the pair and had the ride ready for 10:30am.The secc was mega busy that day and 4000 were turned away from the doors. Later at 5:30pm we have a small problem with a lapbar refusing to open. A small hiccup that only needed a small adjustment screw changed. Then 15 minutes later and the DZ strips two bolts. That was the ride closed for the evening. Just pure and simple abuse, non stop hard work for the ride over the previous weeks had taken its toll. That night we got replacement bolts for the ride. 

3rd at 9am we are back in early and replace the two faulty bolts and the remaining two good bolts (taking no chances). 

3rd that evening I get a phone call and the compressor on the skydiver has packed in. So we have to borrow one to keep going. 4th and the santa train goes on the blink. Since I cant be in two places at once and bro still down with pneumonia, we have to close it. 

5th I'm up early to get to the mall and fix the train. This I do as its only a blown fuse, while I'm there we notice a couple of wheels are wearing down so we end up changing them. At least that's a job less for next year. 

6th and a guide wheel ball race goes on the DZ . Not a big problem but it still needs replacing. 

7th Oh! and that whinning from the jeep diffs is back and getting worse, bloody stupid kia supplying wrong size spare wheels!!!!!  I've told her indoors that 9 is an unlucky number, no doubt time will tell. 

Since then the DZ has been completely NDT'd, all bolts,tower welds and rope connections with no defects. Maybe I'm just para?

a fairground life( secc video)

Just thought I'd post this digi clip of the secc. The event has been heaving this week. I guess the DZ alone has been doing an average of 220 full rides per day!!! No rest for the wicked as we are also open on New Years day too, so while the rest of the country is nursing a hangover we will be grafting as usual. It will be mainly Asian customers tomorrow. Happy Hogmanay everybody!

Thank's Blakey for all the help this year, what you doing Sunday night? cos bro's got pnuemonia , r will be in secc and the train needs to come out the mall.