a fairground life (shed rats)
a funfair life told from the inside


Well the mall has changed from a winter wonderland to an arctic tundra. It was -7 today so the rides were frozen beyond operational limits. A day off for some while "r" and I did our shift in the secc.
Well it was the calm before the storm, only literally and not metaphorically speaking! The snow has hammered us for two days now. I spent over an hour yesterday and again this morning clearing snow from the miami and skydiver rides. Then I salted the platforms on each ride. All to no avail as there are no customers about. The DZ was even affected by the snow as the secc was closed early (7pm) last night due to public transport problems. It took me 2hrs to get home at night as the roads were so bad. Roll on christmas day so I can get my feet up. As for the water lasers, they are still frozen solid, maybe I could alter them to fire ice cubes?
Since last Wednesday we have been busy busy working but not earning. The DZ was set up in the secc ahead of schedule as I had allocated 3 full days for this but managed to do it in 1 and a 1/2. Just as well as we had the miami booked in for the Soulwaxmas event at the braehead arena too and both gigs kicked off on the same night (fri 18th). The miami setup was supposed to be from Thursday but there was no activity at the Arena site, so I half pulled the ride down to move it the 100 yrds onto its event plot and left it for the next day. All the smaller rides were removed from the mall area as this was now being shared with the music event. To ease any congestion, avoid blocking the view to the music event entrance and prevent any damage being done to these rides, we removed them from site earlier in the week. This meant that they would all have to be re erected on Saturday morning before opening. I said "half pulled down the miami" as that was exactly what it was. We never removed the weights or lowered the backflash, we just packed the control box and raised the front platforms. The lorry coupled up ready to move. So back on Friday early noon to set the ride up again. It only took a few minutes to move the 100 yrds distance and about 20mins to re erect the ride. After that it was back to the secc for opening. I arrived back at 4pm to see one of the other ride operators pull in with his van. He had a large hydraulic ram inside, which he had just got repaired. Unluckily for him the seals had went whilst trying the ride out after trying out on Monday. The ram was repaired but now had to be fitted. So a few of us gave him a hand. We got the use of a forklift from the secc to remove the cylinder from the back of the van. Now we had to devise a way to lift it into position four feet off the floor at a 45 degree angle whilst being inserted through two beams with cutout holes and not forgetting that the eyes needed to align for the fixing pins! At that the helpful HSE officer for the secc arrived to give us the benefit of his wisdom. The outcome of that was- the forklift was not designed to carry the ram, but since it was safer than us lifting it by hand he would "kindly" let us use it. I suppose if we had strapped a palette to the bloody thing that would have been alright then! So watching the clock and with the help of the experienced forklift driver (which made all the difference) we did manage to get the ram in position and the pins hammered in literally on the stroke of 6pm when the doors opened. Mean while "r" was doing the music event with the crew from Falkirk. Skyliner "c" arrived to help me with the DZ.

The last of the light ups for us Alloa. I have been providing the fair here for the last 10 years and apart from the first year in 2000, I never presented any of my own equipment. This year was different though as the Fair was to be moved from the origional car park to a new location just across the road. I must admit, at first I did not fancy the new location as it was further away from the High St and the fair was partly hidden from view by a neighbouring building, but on the night the people did turn out to support the towns event. The organisers realised that the new location for the light up stage show needed some extra effort and they really pulled out the stops. They had extra x-mas lights installed leading down to the venue, a new Christmas tree put up and lights fitted to it, then they had a world record attempt organised for the most people dancing a reel. To top all that off, there was a charity fair in the aforementioned building and plenty of advertisement to let the public know. So we set off from Glasgow on a dry , cold and dark Saturday morning at 6am. It was very foggy with poor visabillity but by the time we arrived in Alloa at little before 8am the fog had lifted a bit. The new location was almost clear of cars, in fact a sole van was parked and as mentioned before in this blog it was parked in the obligatory way. We juggled the position of the ride to compensate then started to build up. A short while later the rest of the tenants arrived, as it was a new site I had prepared a plan before hand but this was quickly modified for the better. As in previous years we all headed over to TESCO for our breakfast before opening. The parked van was moved by the council just before we opened at 11am. The first few hours were slow but just about 3:30pm the crowds started to form for the switch on an hour later. The crowds dwindled to see the light up and then headed back over to the fair again just before 5pm. A few minutes later the DZ had the breakdown. The RCCB had tripped the power off during a ride cycle, "r" went and put it on again and as the ride was stopped, I pressed the manual lower to bring down the carriage for a restart. Alas the ride only lower about 30cm when it stopped again. I thought it was jammed and went out for a closer inspection. I could see that the ride had jammed on a fouled rope. All I needed to do was raise the carriage 1-2 inches to clear it but the design of the ride is such that it can only be started when the carriage is at the bottom position and it was 12ft above this! So we followed procedure and had the fire brigade remove the passengers. At 6:30pm the last one was removed by ladder. It only took "r" a minute to clear the jam by attaching a ratchet strap to the tower and carriage. He ratcheted up the strap and the empty carriage raised the inch or so and he cleared the fowled rope. Literally 2 minutes and the ride carriage was lowered down. But you could'nt do that with the public sitting onboard. At 8pm we were heading back to Glasgow. The next morning we were supposed to do the light up at Cambuslang. We arrived on site at 7am to look at the position for the DZ, it was too tight for the fire passage and the alternative was on too great a slope, so we took the ride back to the mall. There we erected the ride for 10am then replaced the fowled rope with a spare. All ready for noon we tried the ride but it would not go, for 5 hours "r" and I tried everything to get it to go. Eventually, being frozen to the bone, tired and de-moralised we left it for the next day, lucky we didn't go to Cambuslang. Monday morning and I sent emails to the manufacturer in Italy and called an electrician. I also phoned "IS" who used to have a similar ride before he sold it. "r" and I stopped at Maplins to get some components, we tested every diode, resistor, contactor , connection. We read the schematic, traced voltages and even looked up the CPU manual on the internet. The ride still would not go, it simply lifted about 2m from the floor then stopped and blew a 2A fuse. It was about 2pm now and I felt sure that we had fried the CPU when the RCCB trip had went at Alloa. Then in a last ditch desperation thought, I had an idea! The only thing that was out of the ordinary for (apart from the rope foul up) the ride was all the foot traffic across the floor of the ride the night of the breakdown. Normally the carriage is positioned here and prevents foot traffic, so I said to "r" to lift the tread-plate sheeting. Hallelujah!!! a tiny comms wire was rubbed bear and touching on the flooring. As soon as "r" touched it the ride came to life. I called the electrician and "IS" to inform them. As for Italy it was two days later before they contacted me. At that I headed home to pick up Mrs Showman and headed down south for a showmen's function. I don't know if she was happier cos the ride was re paired or because she was getting to go to the function.


Campbeltown
5:30am and the alarm goes off, at this point I am already regretting the trip to Campbeltown, I dragged myself out of bed and picked up my bag I packed the night before. It was a short trip to the house to pick up showman and then off to pick up a good friend of mine who would be making the trip with me "RM", from there we headed out to the Mall where the Drop zone was waiting for us. On arrival RM quickly put the bags in the cab of the lorry while I set about starting it and building the air up, but this was a no go as the lorry turned over once and then died, so it was out with the battery charger and on with the generator. Within five minutes the charger had the lorry roaring to life and the air was coming up nicely. Another ten minutes passed as I had a last look round and we where on our way. Showman followed us in the pick up to the junction for the M8 and from there he headed back home. I think that was the point at which it really dawned on me that I would be doing this not so much alone but without guidance. Campbeltown is run by another showman we call "Shiney shows" (on account of how clean he keeps his equipment) but for easy writing i'll just call him SS. The plan was for us to leave together but he ended up leaving half an hour behind me by the time he picked up his wee brother KS this meant I got to go in front. For weeks people have told me that the road to Campbeltown is one of the worst they have driven and one person even told Showman that if he wanted the ride back in one piece he would need to drive it there and back himself ( Thank you for the vote of confidence ! ). I will admit that it is the most dangerous road I have ever driven, narrow with blind corners and verges that are anything but forgiving. I will say that I did have a few "hairy" moments on the 140 mile journey, one being a Loch gate that you cross just the other side of Lochgilphead, there are no lights or signs to tell you that you are approaching the bridge ( that can be open or closed ) and as you turn the 90 degree blind corner you have less than 100 yards to swerve away from on coming traffic as the road goes from two way to single track for crossing the bridge itself ! I admit I was lucky that there was no coming traffic or I would have been in trouble. After the bridge at Lochgilphead the journey was less eventful as I'd had the s@&ts put up me and I drove with much more consideration! We arrived at Campbeltown around 11 am and I phoned SS to see where he was at, he had stopped in Tarbert ( 35 miles away ) to book the B&B for us that night and would soon be on his way again. I took this opportunity to park the drop zone on the sea front and have a look at the ground. The site itself was a small car park between three buildings with access via a narrow side road that opened onto the high street, a tight get in to say the least and to make things just that bit harder there were cars parked everywhere. There was a sign up at the entrance to the car park stating that it would be "closed at 1pm" and a 12:30pm SS turned up with KS and we set about stopping cars from entering. Within half an hour we had decided that enough cars had left to try and get the drop zone in, we were WRONG. SS and I went back to the parked ride to bring it in, but alas the bad battery had not taken a charge on the long journey. Luckily SS had a booster pack that we put on and that got the lorry started ( I could see this was going to be an on going problem ). First off I tried to go up the high street and swing right into the narrow road leading to the car park, but it was too tight so it was decide to take a drive round the town and come down the High street and swing left. I got half way round the town when I turned right to go down one of the small streets and I got stuck! A van driver had parked and I could not get passed plus the drop zone was still blocking the road I had just turned off of. It was mayhem! Again luck struck and the driver was only talking across the road, he saw the commotion and quickly shifted. Eventually I had come full circle and was making the left turn into the side street leading to the car park, again this was lined with cars and very narrow, my drivers wing mirror was brushing the wall of a building and I was clearing the cars on my left by mere inches. From this point on it took us an hour and a half just to get off the side street and into the car park, we tried reversing in but parked cars would not let the lorry follow the truck so we straightened up and reversed back down the street we had just driven up and drove into the car park but this meant the ride's tower would be the wrong way and could not swing, so we spent another 30 minutes jack-knifing the truck around with only a few feet to spare. I have to say that without SS, KS and RM there is no way I would have got into that car park, especially KS who has a real knack for guiding using every inch available to get me in ( Thank you ). After that the build up was easy. RM and I threw the drop zone up and grabbed a quick bite to eat, while we waited on darkness falling and the people coming out. About 5 pm folks started to arrive and we stayed open till 9pm. Business was steady but we were just a bit too far from the main event ( a parade down the high street ) and this did hinder us. The pull down was uneventful and I had put the battery charger on the lorry while we were open so it started no problem, by half ten we where back on the road heading towards Tarbert for their light up the next night. The road at night was a lot quieter and I was following SS who knew it better than I, so it was easy driving as I was only following a set of tail lights. We arrived at Tarbert about midnight and drove right onto the plot as it had been coned off for our arrival, I uncoupled the drop zone and parked the lorry behind it while there were no cars in the way as the main street was quiet. After that I walked across the street and checked into the Tarbert Hotel. A strange experience to say the least as I have never stayed in a hotel between light ups, as we usually just head home but I guess this time we were just a bit far out for that.
Tarbert
The next day RM and I slept through breakfast and right on till noon! Unlike SS and KS who have never been known to miss a meal (lol). We got up had quick showers and set about building up the drop zone which again was uneventful apart for a brief 30 seconds where we had to stop traffic so we could swing the tower across the main road. RM and I where all done for 2pm and headed back into the hotel for a quick wash and to check out. SS and KS took us to a cafe that they frequent during the summer (when they are opened here for three weeks) and introduced us to the owner, from there we went to the art shop where SS showed me photos and paintings of the fairground during the summer and one of his 50 foot wagon on the quay side in the middle of the town by itself. Then we went to the ruins of the castle to see the town from a high vantage point and collected some branches for the owner of the cafe to paint silver and decorate the cafe windows with for the coming festivities. I have to admit the four of us looked somewhat peculiar walking through the town with arms full of sticks! KS cracked a few jokes about pagan rituals and we had a good laugh, this earned us a free meal when we stopped by the cafe again just before opening so it was worth it ! We opened at 5pm and the parade came down the high street and stopped right in front of the drop zone while the local councilor said a few words from the balcony of the hotel, it looked like we where going to get something as we had a few runs after the speech ( In which the councilor thanked SS for putting on the fair and congratulated him on his new drop zone ride ! ) but the weather beat us and the rain came down hard clearing the street, at 8:30pm RM and I started pulling down and by 10pm we were on our way back to Glasgow. I followed SS to Lochgilphead where he stopped for fuel while I carried on. It was plain sailing all the way to the Erskine bridge where I stopped for fuel in preparation for Alloa the next morning. After that it was a quick hop over the bridge where I caught up with SS again just as he was cutting off the M8. From there I went to the layby where showman was waiting to pick us up and take RM home. That was the end of our little adventure, 280 miles 2 fairs 2 days and a guided tour of Tarbert ! I have to say I earned more in experience than I did in cash and travelling with SS, KS and RM was without a doubt the highlight of the whole thing, we had a good laugh, but I was glad to be home!

The last Saturday at Stranraer was dry. The fair opened a little after 2pm until 5pm when most closed again for Tea. It was at this time I decided to start the lorry to thaw it out for that nights jouney. It started alright but it did seem a bit smoky and off beat. I just dismissed this as the engine being cold, stopped it and went for my tea. Having a quick tea we coupled the Hobby caravan to the jeep and Mrs showman set sail for the yard in Glasgow. It was 90 miles away and by her leaving early she would be able to do the first 30 mls (the worst) in daylight. I opened the DZ again after teatime until 9:30pm. There was a decent crowd on the fair for the last night, no doubt helped by the fact that the previous night was a total wash out. "r" arrived just before pulling down and we were all set. I had positioned the DZ on a slight angle when we built up so that the tower would lower into a gap between a side stall and a caravan. It did this perfectly but we had to wait until the side stall was moved before we could swing the tower around along the truck length for travelling. There were also several hoopla stalls in the way too and we assisted the owner of one to pull down. We coupled up the unit and it was at this time that the smoke problem hit home. The lorry had run for 10 mins and shunted the ride out of its position but the smoke still persisted. We decided to change the fuel filter but this had no effect. I was wondering if the new exhaust silencer could have been put on the wrong way or if the intercooler had got a pin hole? No time to waste now, I just decided to get in and go. At 11:48 pm we pulled out the gate of the fair onto the main road. About 1 mile or less and the smoke had cleared, I guess it was a sticky injector. The lorry pulled like a train and a little after 2:15am we arrived at the mall.We only stopped once at Prestwick for fuel. "r" wanted to build up right away as we were to open here at noon the next day, but I had other ideas and we went home for a shower and kip. The next day at 10am we started to erect the tower again. We missed the noon opening by 15 mins.

So Thursday morning we head over to park life in Strathclyde park. The event was larger than I thought with four large tents/arenas. The fair was moved from prime tober to a part at the end of the event, in fact it was that near the end of the event that it was literally in its own fenced off pen. So at 4pm we headed in with the miami. The ride was set up on the end of the semi trailer that housed the Polish workers that had erected the tents. It was a tight fit , leaving only enough room for the tower to erect just inside the event gates. We erected the miami along the edge of the fence. I was relieved to see that we were on tarmac after all the rain we have had lately. The next day we arrived with the dz and set it along the fence too.The fire master decided that the polish abode was a fire hazard and needed to be removed from the site, only problem was that the miami was now in the way! Luckily we managed to shift the miami pay box to let the semi trailer out and away. We were finished for T time and headed home again. The next day was Saturday and we were due to open at 12 noon. The gig opened at noon but the punters didn't find their way down to us until after 2pm. It was a hard position where we where and it was even harder as the security would not let the punters in to us if they had drink in their hands of if they seemed drunk! Now lets look at this-- drinks were £4 a pop and every body had been drinking since noon!! not much scope for many clientele getting thru to us. To be fair we did knock out half a living but we lost three times as much. At 10 pm the gig ended and we got the rides down pronto. By 11:30 pm both rides were heading out of the park.I took the rides back to a lay by and left them overnight until the next morning.
Thursday morning 7am and the rain has battered down all night. I'm still at Dunkeld with the Hobby caravan and about to leave to go to Ingliston near Edinburgh for a private event. When I look out I see that the ground is flooded. I couple the jeep to the Hobby and make a charge for the roadway. The jeep slips and slides but does manage to reach the road. When I look in the mirror the front of the Hobby is covered in thick brown mud that is running down the front and dripping off like a chocolate fountain. We cant go on the road like that so I get out in the teaming rain and using the washing brush I wash the front of the trailer with a puddle! The heavy rain finishes off the job and after 10 mins the trailer is clean again. On arrival at Ingliston I find the organiser. The rain is still falling and the location for the event is flooded, so we have to do a quick re think of the set up. About 30 mins later we bring in the first of the rides and start to set them. We do have tarmac paths to work from but some attractions still have to go onto the grass area. Fortunately the grass is hard underneath and we manage to get the DZ onto its plot. At that the other rides appear from Glasgow and we set them. The rain fell constantly all day and it slowed our progress as it was nearly 6pm before we were finished. I didn't plan on returning home but as we were soaked thru I left to return to the house for a hot shower. The next morning we returned to set the other ride that had came up from Newcastle. We were expecting a large crowd and I had arranged for 100 barriers to be delivered so that we could fence the rides and make larger queue pens for the patrons. At 4pm we left to return to Blargowrie for opening. En route the jeep made a couple of alarming clicking noises like a cog jumping and I could feel power loss for a second. I think this is more differential problems. I eased on the speed down to 50 MPH to make sure we got to Blair. It was 5:45pm when we arrived and Mrs Showman managed to rustle up a quick tea before we opened at 6:30pm. Friday night is usually short and sweet here and this year was no different as we were closed for 8:45pm.
Wednesday morning 5am and the alarm goes off. I hadn't slept since after 3am anyway. At that I heard my bros jeep pull up outside. I got up, dressed and knocked up "r" as I passed his trailer. It was still dark and very foggy. I headed down to the field where the lorries were parked and started up the Maimi's Foden and the show's ERF.I could see the twist side lights as it pulled up to the gate to leave. I got into the Foden to move it out too but it would not move, it was skidding. I pulled the show in front of it and wound out the winch cable. At that "r" arrived and climbed into the Foden. It was about 40ft of wire rope we had wound out and I began to tighten the rope. The winch pressure climbed to around 3500 Psi and the Foden slowly inched forward out of the ruts. "r" gave it a little help in first gear and the needle dropped back to around 2000 psi. So there we go the winch was tested a whole year early, how wrong could I be when I suggested next year? I headed to the gate but the twist was still there, stuck due to the fence on the corner. We reversed it back in again and took another angle out. This time it made the corner. So at 5:55am we headed off to Blairgowrie, me in the miami, "r" in the Skydiver and my Bro in his twist. I had only done about 1/2 mile when I heard a jingle, then a jangle then a rattle. It sounded like a loose wheel cap so I pulled over. When I looked out the wheel cap was ok so I looked under the lorry. One of the exhaust straps had bust (possibly caught on mud) and the silencer had drooped enough for the end pipe to scrape the road. Only option was to tie it up, so I looked in the cab for something pliable but non combustible. I found a 10m extension cable, so I tied up the hot exhaust with part of the cable and then wound the excess back and forth around the two front couplings to take up the excess. It did the trick and 3/4 of an hour later I was in Blairgowrie. Unfortunately the extension cable will now have to be trimmed to about 8m due to the extreme heat.The carpark was clear and we started to set up the rides immediately. We erected the Skydiver first then the Miami. After tea I went back and brought over the show lorry.
Sunday at Crieff was very windy. As a result a small trade stand was party flattened by a branch that fell from a tree.Luckily no one was hurt. I don't know how but it managed to stay dry through out the day. I assume that the wind kept the rain at bay. Business was slightly back on the previous year but in this economic climate it was nothing to complain about. The crew had arrived and at 6pm just as the game's grand finale (motor bike stunt show this year) was ending we began to pack up. Since I was heading to Irvine in the morning with the DZ I wanted the Skydiver and Miami down and away to the next gaff, namely Dunkeld. They would be parked there on site for a week waiting until I came back up with the DZ to open for the games. So a little after 9pm we were heading for Dunkeld. It was pitch black when we arrived there. I was in first with the Skydiver and headed down into the field. I followed the new gravel road that the games committee had laid right into the site of the fair. I spotted the tree that marked my position and swung onto the plot. I pulled forward to straighten the load up and then reversed back onto the position again with the wheels starting to slip. I got out for a look and could see I wasn't quite bang on but was sure it would be close enough for the ride to set up on the following week. Meanwhile "r" had brought the Miami in and he too has set almost perfect onto it's position. It was after 10pm now and we headed back to Crieff. Monday morning "r" took the DZ and I followed with his pick up and trailer. It was just over 104 miles from fair to fair. When we arrived at Irvine we quickly set the trailers. The ground was soft in patches with all the rain that had fell. Some rides were already stuck in places. The DZ was set onto a plot about 90ft further along than last year. We built up as quickly as possible as we were hindering the next two rides as they had to wait until our tower was raised. It took us about 30 mins longer to build up as Irvine is very hilly in parts and the rear side of the DZ was an extra 12 inches higher on packing. So we had to lay good foundations for the ride to set up on. We didn't return to Irvine until Wednesday night for opening. The rain fell again in sheets and biz was poor. It is a large fair and this year there were 16 big rides,2 funhouses and a ghost train plus enough side stalls and juveniles to encircle the whole fair. Again it was raining on Thursday night and the fair was getting really muddy in parts. Friday stayed mainly dry but was well back on last year. Saturday started off bright and only threatened to rain after closing at 9pm. Again biz was well back on previous years. The drinking ban is still in force and this made the Saturday comfortable. We could not pull down on Saturday night as the Topstar ride was in the way of lowering the tower so we had to leave it until Sunday morning. That night the rain was torrential all night, I thought it was coming through the trailer roof!In the morning the Topstar was pulled down but could not move out of our way until the Energystorm had finished and moved. It was 2pm before the energystorm was towed out the way by a tractor. Then the Topstar was towed out by the tractor too. Finally "r" and I pulled the DZ down. At 4pm the tractor towed us out as well. Then we headed all the way we had come the week before back up to Dunkeld.It was raining heavily again. When we arrived there at 7pm the ground was soft. The two jeeps just managed to get the trailers onto the plots in 4WD. We left the DZ on the path as we knew it would be an operation in the morning. Monday and we begin putting the other loads into the field. Since the DZ is going to be set across the gate it has to wait until everyone else is in. To be honest it was only the gate of the fair that was soft and as all the other rides were set during the week it was not that bad. Only BJ's skyliner and TI's arcade were to come in and they did so quite easily. "r" and I built up the Skydiver first, had some dinner then went out to set the DZ. The position was muddy and we had to tow the DZ onto its plot. It's small truck tyres sunk thru the mud and didn't even turn as the mud just piled up in front of them. We put the show lorry on the front with a chain and luckily it managed to drag the DZ into position.It was at this time that we worked out what was wrong with the show gearbox (whining when air building up and hard to change gear), it was simple- someone had pulled the PTO knob to engage. So when the air got to 80 PSI it engaged, but since we didn't know it was trying to engage we were not holding the clutch out resulting in a whining noise until the gears finally meshed which then made it hard to change gear. Lucky we never blew it up on the road doing 40 mph!! We can only assume that someone engaged it during towing through the mud (at Bridge of Allan) thinking it was a crosslock for the axles as this button is next to the lock diff lever in the cab. We built the DZ up and left the miami until the next morning. Tuesday and the rain was falling lightly again. I built up the miami while "r" did maintenance on the DZ, fitting a couple of new brush contacts. Then we set up the show. I called JM the engineer to request the winch part be fixed for tomorrow as it had been over 18 months now. I had a feeling we were going to need it at the weekend. That night we returned to the house. I had a Guild meeting on Wednesday morning and my wife had a pile of washing to get done. My father in law came over and requested that "r" and I help him demolish his outside kitchen on the chalet as he is getting a new one built. So Wed morning at 7:30 am we head down to the yard with a sledgehammer and electric chain saw. It was raining heavily again but we just set to it and two hours later the outside kitchen was a pile of timber. I went off to my meeting while "r" ferried the waste away to the coup (civic amenity re cycling site in 21st century spin).Thursday and we pick up the winch part (hydraulic piston pump end cap). Oh no!! JM has machined the o ring grove too deep. The rubber ring sits below the face of the end cap, what a blunder considering he had a sample to copy. Nothing for it we decide to get a bigger o ring. So off we go to track one down. At Barnshaw seals in Bellshill it becomes evident that one o ring cant do the job so we double two up. Maybe it will work, maybe not. Back to Dunkeld for opening and the rain is torrential again from 5pm thru to midnight. We did open for an hour but only really to try out. Friday morning "r" put the winch together.We try it and the drum winds in the loose rope from 18 months ago. Well that seems ok but lets pressure test it. We wind the rope in and attach the end to the shows own coupling gab. Then we wind in until the rope tightens, we watch the pressure gauge climb and we stop at 2000 psi. No leaks evident but I've seen the winch working between 3500-4000 PSI! Time will tell. It stays dry that night and the local teenagers turn out to visit the fair. As in previous years they all turn up with carry outs. This is a growing problem here that we only used to see in the larger cities. There were around 80 youths and half were falling about drunk. There was only one incident when one threw a can of larger that hit a girl on the forehead and split it open. A deep cut about 15 mm across. "r" gave her medical treatment at the maimi pay box while I went over and had a word with the culprit (I later got his name and address from another youth for future reference). Thing is that they all seem to know each other and I suppose it will be sorted out at a later date. We never ever have had a wrong word at Dunkeld and the alcohol problem is going to change this. A lot of the youths also come from smaller towns nearby like Aberfeldy and Pitlochry. At 10 pm we closed and the crowd headed off. Saturday morning and it is bright and breezy. There is a lot on in this area today- Blair Atholl Bikers rally, Run Rig concert. So it was well into the afternoon before the numbers grew. The games finished after 5pm and at 6pm the youths returned with more alcohol, by the case. It seems that a bottle to share is not enough anymore, they all need a 40 oz each! At 7:30pm the local police make an appearance but they don't confiscate any drink, not even from the ones that are under age. There presence does quieten down the youngsters though. At 8pm the police leave with a promise that they will return around 9pm for the fair closing. The youths continue with their drinking marathon again. At 8 pm the side stalls begin to pack up as all the family people have left (wonder why?). The crew had arrived by this time and "r" packs up the skydiver at the bottom end of the fair. It was 9:45 pm when I closed up the DZ. "R" had just finished the Skydiver and had even got the unit coupled under it. Mrs Showman closed the Miami at 9:50pm as enough was enough. We began to pulldown as the youths headed off for their buses etc, the police never appeared again, maybe they were busy elsewhere. We pulled down the miami to get it out the way of the Tower. Then we tackled the DZ. It was too dark and muddy to attempt coupling up so at 11:45 pm we called it a night. Sunday morning and we start moving vehicles. The DZ couples up but can't move so we put the show on it with a chain and pull it out. Then the miami couples up and the Foden double drive pulls away, does a circuit of the fair to turn and gets out onto the path ok. Next is the skydiver, "r" had coupled it up the evening before, it could not pull out of its divots so we put the show on with a chain again and give it a tow out. Again no problems right onto the path. It seems that the winch will have to get tested at a later date (next year now as that is all the fields over for this year). So with everything out on the path earlier than expected we find time to change a tyre on the DZ trailer that had developed an egg (more expense). As an uncle once said-"anything with tits or tyres will always give you trouble!"
Short days make a long week.





The last couple of days have been spent testing some of the rides. Not much happening at the minute. "r" has received a second recall on his L200 for faulty U bolts on the rear axle. I don't know if I mentioned it earlier but in June we had to get two new leaf springs fitted under warranty as both were broken! This means that the U bolts will have been off 3 times this year alone on the L200. Went over to the carpark we use for the Glasgow River Festival and put up some closure signs to try and thin out the amount of traffic we have to contend with on pulling in day. Hopefully this will help. The dates have changed again this year and it is now another week later falling on the last weekend of July. We have been lucky for the last 3 years as it has been dry for the event. What's the odds on four out of four??? Apart from that all I have been doing is paper work, print,copy,print,copy so that I am all ready for moving again.

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.
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.
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!!!

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.




Labels: The Hoppings Newcastle
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?
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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???
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!
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.