a fairground life(Selkirk summary)

Wednesday
went to Burntisland today to check up on things there. I didn't get back to Selkirk until nearly 6pm. Later my wife and I went to Galashiels for a buffet Chinese with some friends and the kids. Spent most of the day driving!

Thursday
Opening night and its raining, no its pouring down and has been since late last night. Hope the ground conditions can hold out. Got "r" and the labourer to jet wash and chip (remove the rust) the Miami chassis ready for painting. There is a blacksmith here who is very good with the showmen. I had him make up a wire mesh box for me. Its getting fitted to the dropzone chassis to carry packing and the mains cables. I had been packing these in the control booth. A friend of mine pointed out that this didn't look too good when building up. He was correct of course and I did know I needed a box, this just made me do it quicker. In days gone by when all rides were built up and not fold up, the control booths had to be constructed similar to flat-pack. Then placed into the truck or in my case hung on the side of the lorry. This meant no storage space and items kept in the box were nil. Now with the boxes of solid construction, it doesn't take long to fill them up with odds and ends.

Friday
wire mesh box fitted today,looks fine. This should make things tidier in the control booth after pulling down the ride. It's still raining and there is no sign of it letting up. "r" had to return to Burntisland just before 6pm as the wind there was so strong it was blowing the panels off the skydiver backflash! He had to put in more pop rivets and then strap the panel frames down to the lorry. I opened here at 6:15pm and the rain continued right through the night.

Saturday
Dull, overcast, but dry. We are lucky here, the galas at Prestonpans , Grangemouth , Gorebridge and the Crowning of the Queen at Burntisland are all cancelled due to the weather. There is a lot of drinking on the fairground and I spend a lot of time through out the day picking up empty bottles. Business is nearly upto par and there is no bother. The fair closed shortly after 10:15pm.Went to the pub for a pint. When I got upto the High Street I couldn't beleive how quiet it was. Two of the popular pubs from years ago were closed down! There are rumours that this is the last common riding for Selkirk, I didn't pay much heed to that until now. The town does seem in decline. Eventually returned to the ground and found a party in my brothers place, got to bed just after 3am."r" was drunk, first time I've seen this. He was ill the next day, I honoured my fatherly duties and took the mick out of him.

Sunday
Up at 11am. At last dry weather, so out with the paint and fired into the Miami chassis. All done for 2pm, but the finish of the paint is not glossy so I will have to lacquer it. Some of the other tenants have pulled down and left for Peebles.
On any fair when another tenant leaves earlier, you can't help feeling that you should be leaving too.

Monday
A lazy day today. We did some picking up and got things ready for pulling down. The weather was dry and some families did come down to the fair. As usual for here, we started to pull down at 9pm. I had to wait a while for the waltzer
to take down the lamp battons and front gate, then I lowered the dropzone pole down across it's front platforms. It only took 10 minutes to remove the bolts and swing it around out of the way. All finished for midnight. It's only 7 miles to Melrose, but the town has a one way system and it's very narrow. We will have to be up at 6 am and away to beat the traffic.

more next week

a fairground life(a busy week)

Its been a busy week since I last managed to update the blog.
Friday,
Went to Edinburgh for some paint and hardware supplies so "r" could repair a vehicle door and paint the skydiver wheel hubs. That night my wife and I were invited out to the Whipman dinner dance. So off we went at 7:30pm and left everyone else to mind the attractions. I haven't danced to the "Gay Gordons" since high school, but after the first couple of reels, I had it down pat again. We had an absolute first class night out. Thanks to all who were on our table. Got to bed by 2am.

Saturday,
slept as late as possible, until 11am. Just after 1pm the pipeband marched down to the war memorial and a wreith was laid. The events start around 1:30pm on the Green. At this time we open up with the music very low so the sports day commentory can be heard. The sun was shining and business was good. Some years we close at teatime for an hour, but not this year. It was around 9:30pm when the juveniles closed, but there seemed to be more teenagers this year and the large rides didn't close until nearly 11pm. Then "r" and a labourer started to dismantle the skydiver and I started the miami. Both these rides were finish for midnight. Straight away we did the Dropzone. We were all finished for 1:30am.

Sunday,
up at 6am sharp, we used another vehicle to tow the skydiver off the Green so no ruts were made. By 7am we were on our way to Burntisland. The plan, as in other years is to get there and setup the skydiver ready for opening at 12noon. It was a damp morning and the fine rain continued until 11am. The ride was setup and operational on time. Back to move the rest of the equipment down to the next border fair. The next two trips were made and all equipment was moved by 10pm.

Monday,
10 am start on the Dropzone, I wanted to get it setup before the rest of the fair comes in. It has a small footprint when erected, but requires a large assembly space for the pole. By 12noon the Dzone was up and time to start the miami. The sun was at its hottest now, we finished the miami for just after 1pm. Rested for the next few hours and then off to Hawick to assist my mother. Got back to Selkirk for midnight. Didn't sleep to well due to my sunburn and all the other equipment rolling in from Hawick. Awoke this morning to find a whole fair had sprung in around us..

Tuesday,
up at 8am and off to Glasgow for a meeting with my daughters school teachers. Then picked up some spare parts for the miami, paint for the chassis, mail and done numerous other small jobs. After writing the blog it will be back to the borders again!! Will sleep well tonight.

I can't update the blog over the mobile phone connection, so be patient...

a fairground life

Sunday
It was around 3pm when I awoke following the music event. By 4pm we were on our way to the borders. The rain was falling heavy on the west coast and I began to wish I had made the journey earlier, when I had left the rave. I had visions of the fairground being soft when I arrived. As I past Edinburgh the rain eased. When I got to the village, it was dry. They had never got any rain. Knowing it was on its way, we wasted no time and got the miami set on its plot. It was tight and took a few shunts, but thankfully no ruts were made. Re-enstatement costs are high these days. In time gone by, the park keeper would say,"dinae wurry aboot the ruts sonny!, its turnin the grass ower". Not now, private companies maintain the parks and everything costs. Fees cans run into thousands of pounds. The ride was set,that was enough for this day.
Monday
"r" built up the miami. We get water from a widow, that lives behind the fair here. For the last year she has been stepping over a low barrier she erected across her garden. This was to stop the rabbits getting in. I offered to make her a fence with a gate. She accepted.I went to pick up materiels from Peebles, a few miles away. Blakey and I built the fence that afternoon. It was only 10 ft long and by late afternoon it was complete. Good deed done for the day.
Tuesday
Up in the morning and another coat of paint on the fence before we leave for-A family day out. We went and visited the Grey Mares Tail, a 200ft high water fall. We climbed up the hill for over an hour to the Loch. It was hard work but the view was spectacular.
Wednesday
Up in the morning and the last skydiver car is stripped out, the frame inspected,cleaned and painted. The car insert is sprayed black and the everything is put back together again. Then "r" and I decided to alter the front of the water lasers. We wanted to move the headboard forward onto the front shutter. This was because it was hidden by the front shutter when it was open. It seemed like a simple job, but 4 hours later we were still working. It was nearly 6pm before we got finished. The job has made a difference though.
The wheel barrow race is tonight. The locals dam the river to make it deeper (about 2ft/ 600mm) then they race through it on themed wheel barrows. There are several heats and the whole village turns out to watch. We opened again for this night and business was fare. The sun shone well into the evening.
Thursday
At last, the final Decals are stuck onto the water lasers. "r" paints the wheels on the skydiver truck and the diesel man arrives. I was glad to see him, as I had ordered diesel here other years and none turned up! We opened again tonight, but there was nothing on at the Green, so it was quiet and we closed at 8pm.

a fairground life(the long weekend)

Friday
"r" and I went and built up the miami at the music event before we left Glasgow for the Borders. Tonight would be the start of the local festivities at the village and we always open a bit later to give the event committee a chance to say their speeches. So the floats arrived on the Green around 6:30pm and we didn't start until nearly 7:45pm. It was a good crowd as usual. It takes a bit of getting used to, not opening when the people are there waiting, but I've done this for twenty years at this fair. After all- patience is a virtue. When we did open business was steady and we kept going until 10pm. The D/zone had its first fair here and was well received by the local teenagers. A bit of socialising tonight and in bed for 2am.

Saturday
10:30 am and the ride out leaves from the Green. We opened at this time and ticked away all day until 5:30 pm. "r" left for Glasgow to mind the miami at the music event. I felt guilty as I hate doing these types of events now and he was being sent for the first 4 hours. I must be too old now, as I can't stand dealing with the drunk clientel. When we did the raves in the mid 90s, they were alcohol free. Ok, they were all on Drugs, but this made them happy and they wanted to love you to death. In all the events we did, not one wrong word!, ever! Take now though, less drugs and more alcohol, this leeds to a more aggresive atmosphere and alcohol seems to make people want to kill each other. Any how I finished at the village for 10pm and then headed for Glasgow to help "r" and the three staff. When I got there it was heaving as expected. The rain came on just about 3.30am and the event finished at 4am. By 5.10 am we were pulling out the gate. I felt I could have driven to the Borders, but I was worried about "r" falling asleep at the wheel in his car, so we have went to the yard to get some shut eye. (when I finish writing this blog). When we awake it will be wagons ho! This week coming I should get some rest as we don't open on Mon or Tue.
SO THERE IS NO MISUNDERSTANDING-I do not condone the use of drugs, I don't even smoke, all I'm saying is that people under the influence of drugs seem less agressive than those under the influence of alcohol.