a fairground life-ireland trip

Ireland trip
It’s always the same in this business, a feast or a famine. We were closed awaiting a fair in Edinburgh and then out of the blue, an offer of not one , but two fairs in Ireland for St Patrick’s Day. One fair was in Armagh City the other in Trim (Eire). I choose the former for three reasons: It’s in the U.K (so I didn’t need extra insurance), I was still using sterling currency and it was closer.
Four of us set off at 6am from Glasgow. Myself with the Miami, “d” with the superbob and energystorm , “w” with the “frogs” and “b” with the snack bar. “b” and I were going to Armagh and the others to “Carrick ma cross” in the South. “b” and I got to Cairnryan first at 8.30 am. Then “w” with the “frogs”. Next came the energystorm being driven by “w” s eldest son. “d” had a break down with the superbob. The oil had got into the water and the engine stopped. After a short spell he got it going again, (probably when it cooled down). At the docks we weighed the rides on check in. The energystorm weighed in at just over 50tonnes. This was going to be an extra £120. “d” took some weight off the ride and put it onto the superbob to avoid this. After about an hour wait, it was time to board. We were on the bottom deck. I was amazed how close we were packed in. I had to slither down the side of the lorry to get out of the cab. The ferry had a drivers only canteen and I had a lunch voucher in with my ticket. The meal was plentiful and very good. I’m not much of a sailor, but the trip was smooth and we all chatted in the lounge.
When we arrived at Larne we were quickly offloaded and straight out and onto the A8 followed by my wife in the jeep and “b” with the snack bar . The trip was about 60 miles to Armagh. As I followed the motorway into Belfast I made out the initials H &W on some large cranes. This is obviously the shipyard of Harland and Wolfe. It was another 50 miles to Armagh City and after I left Belfast I stopped on the motorway for some directions. Just before we left the M1 the throttle spring came off. This made the engine rev away when I tried to change gear. I kept going until our exit. Gentley I eased the lorry up the slip road and off the motorway. I stopped to put it back on, but then the lorry wouldn’t start again. First I tried the battery terminals but they were all tight ok, so then I tried to jump start it from the generator batteries but it still wouldn’t start. After a short while I tried it again and the lorry did start. I think the engine has a tight spot, when it cooled it started no problem.
By this time the Irish showman, who’s fair I was attending, had come out to meet me and give me direction to the funfair site. I followed him into the city. The roads were quite narrow and twisting. The site was almost at the foot of the city cathedral. The funfair area was black ash, five a side football pitches. They were surrounded by a twenty feet high chain link fence, I wondered to myself if the fence would be high enough to keep the bad boys out. The gate was only ten feet wide and we had to reverse into a gate opposite to get straight onto it. It was a tight squeeze for "b" and I to get in and onto our plots as most of the fair was erected. However we did manage this and as soon as our equipment was on their plots, we set off to find the B&B. The fair was to open the next night and we would finish erecting all the equipment tomorrow morning. The B&B was only five minutes away in the jeep and the place was spotlessly clean. The landlady was typically a friendly chatty Irish lady. Her breakfasts were superb.
That night we went out for a meal in a nearby Hotel. It was first class. Next morning “b” and I set off to erect the equipment. As we were on the way to the fairground we passed a market in a car park almost right next to the funfair site.
The Irish showmen were very friendly and after a chat it was time to get built up.
I had almost finished the Miami ride, all I had to do was secure the weights to the arms. To do this I had to raise the seats but the ride would not move. I thought it was a dirty connection on the bands, but after a few minutes I had deduced that the control battery was flat. So off to the market where I bought a new battery and large 150-amp 12v/24v charger for only £150. When I fitted the battery the ride worked perfectly. I raised the seats up and went to fasten the weight bolts, but I had lost a 36mm, 3/4” drive socket. I hunted high and low; it must have bounced off the ride during transit. The weights had to be secured and the bolts torqued. Only this socket would do the job. So back to the market where I bought a whole spare socket set including ratchet & extension bars for another £50. At this rate of spending I was going to be skint in no time. Back at the fair and I began to tighten the weight bolts. After about 15minutes all was done and we were ready for opening. Not wasting anytime it was back to the B&B to meet our wives and have a quick look around Armagh. Opening times for a funfair in the UK are typically 6pm on a weekday or 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. In Ireland it was 7pm and 4pm, but they usually stayed open longer at night. That evening it was bitterly cold, business was slow but I wasn’t worried yet. After closing we went back to the B&B, no hotel meal tonight, we stopped at an all night supermarket and got some ding dinners.
The next day was St Patrick’s Day. The weather was freezing cold and it started to snow. Since we were to open at 4pm my wife and I walked into the city centre to see if there were any festivities. There was a stage setup and bands playing music. The crowd watching was about 200 strong. I was told there used to be a parade, but it was cancelled this year. Just before 4pm we opened at the fair. We did get something but not much. The clientele were much the same as in Glasgow, most were wearing Celtic football tops and waving Irish flags. That night we went back to the B&B and had a few drinks there (the city was too rowdy). The next morning it was a blizzard. The snow was two inches deep. We didn’t open in the afternoon. We did open after 7pm, but it was slow going and eventually we closed early. The Miami must have been hit with a hundred snowballs that night. It was clear now that we would be lucky to brake even never mind turn a profit from this venture. That night we went to the pub with the Irish showmen. I’m not much of a pub goer, but I did enjoy myself. They were all good company and we seemed to have a lot to talk about. It seems our trade has the same tales to tell, the same problems the country over.
Monday morning we got up and went sight seeing. This was our last day here and the fair would open at 7pm, We went to Warrenpoint, Newry and Carrick ma cross, all three had fairs at them. At the latter we visited “d” and “w”. For them business had been bad too. “d” was staying on to catch another fair, but “w” was going home on the same boat as us. The weather had put paid to this years festivities.
When we returned to Armagh for opening “b” and I found a route through the city that led to a lay-by near the B&B. This is were we would park the vehicles that night. The Irish showman had pulled down his frogs ride by the time we returned. He was short staffed and this meant he only had the dodgems to do that night. Again business was slow and the fair started to pull down at 8pm. It was bitterly cold and the slush was still lying in places. “b” and I were finished for 10pm. The gate was very tight so I took out the snack bar for “b” with the jeep. The Miami had to be reversed out. It was a tight squeeze so took a little time. We arrived at our pre planned parking spot just after 11pm. We crossed the road into the B&B and kip.
7am and up. We had another delicious breakfast prepared by the landlady “Bernie”. We said our goodbyes and by 8am we were leaving for Larne. When I started the Foden up I noticed one of the air tanks wasn’t showing any pressure. It had never done this before. I tried the brakes and they were off. I just drove the lorry anyway. Everything seemed fine and I wanted to get home so no messing around, just go while the going is good. All the way to Larne the tank showed no pressure. I had concluded that it was a faulty gauge or connection as the dial was actually showing negative pressure.
Straight into the docks at Larne. Then I had to turn around and exit, as I had not weighed the vehicle. I thought because I had a return ticket that would be it. “b” had followed me straight in as well. We all had to about turn and return to the weighbridge.
Thirty minutes later we were back in again. All lined up in the queue lanes. The jeep was in the car area with the girls in it. No sign of “w” so we phoned him. He had opted for a Belfast sailing. Two hours to kill so we went for lunch.
When the ferry came in we returned to the vehicles. This time it was up the ramp onto the middle deck. It looked rather steep and I was worried about grounding the tail of the Miami ride. Needless to say this didn’t happen. The vehicles were all packed in as tightly as before. I wandered how these ferries could be so busy. It seemed like too much freight constantly for such small countries (Scotland & Ireland).
This time I slept through the crossing. I took off my boots and sprawled across a sofa in the forward lounge. When we arrived back in Cairnryan, again it was straight off and away. It was nearly another uneventful trip until I had a near catastrophe just past Girvan. I went to overtake a slow moving tractor and then he signalled right turn. I literally stood on the brakes. He must have heard the wheels squealing because he looked around over his shoulder. I cut back in again and was planning to head for the verge. Luckily the tractor driver put his foot down and made the turn just in time for me to miss him. Just one of those things I guess.
I pulled into the services at Prestwick for fuel (another £150) and refreshments for myself. On to Glasgow again. Here my wife headed for the yard. My son “r” left the yard and joined the motorway just as I was passing by. He followed me to Edinburgh where we were to open the next night. We arrived onsite around 8:30pm. Where the fair is located can be a tight squeeze. It’s in a small car park behind a small shopping precinct. The other attractions were already setup as they had pulled in on Monday. Luckily the car park was clear enough for us to get on our plot with minimal fuss. We started to erect straight away. By 10:30pm we were heading back to Glasgow again. Another fair over and another begun. It was a lot of work for no money. If you count what I had spent on the tools then we were out of pocket. Poor “b” with the snack bar had done even worse and had wasted stock.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained! That’s life. At least I know how to book a ferry now! If you every go to Armagh City and need a B&B, try the “Meadows”. As I put in the guest book-“possibly the best B&B in the world!”