a fairground life(end Dunkeld)

We left the yard just after 3pm. I was taking the skydiver unit and my wife was driving the jeep towing the touring caravan.
The sun was strong in Glasgow and it was a plesant trip back up. When we got to Perth however the sky was dark and the rain was coming down in torrents. My thoughts instantly turned to the skydiver ride in the middle of the field at Dunkeld. I did hope that the rain was only local and maybe Dunkeld (still 12 miles) had missed it. That was not the case. The road was wet all the way to the gate of the fairground. I drove the lorry in with no problems and got coupled up, but when I tried to pull out the wheels started to skid. I went to the funhouse lorry parked nearby and brought it back into the field to use the winch on it. ( My father had bought the winch cheap from a friend. For 14 years we tripped over it as it lay in the back of his lorry and never got it fitted up. When he did away with that vehicle, I claimed it and fitted it under the funhouse lorry. I did all the work myself and it still cost over £300 to fit up. The first year was a dry one and I never used it at all. I thought to myself "if I knew that would be the case I would have fitted it years ago". The next year I used it several times and wondered how we ever managed without one before. Having to tow vehicles with chains etc. Then I remembered that my father had an old Foden double drive with 1200 x20 track grip tyres on it. He had this lorry for 12 years and it never got stuck once, nor did we ever put an airline on a tyre. It would drive in and out of anywhere with a trailer attached. They were still good tyres when the lorry went to the breakers 3 years ago.)
I went to unwind the wire rope. There were a couple of bangs and a shudder! Before I could think ohno! what's up?, the winch came to life. I suppose it was just a little seized from waiting 18 months in between jobs! So with the winch attached to the front of the skydiver we slowly chugged it out of its ruts. Even at an inch a second it is faster than not moving at all. When the ride cleared the soft area the wire rope was removed and I drove it out onto the hard standing. An old wise showman once said to me, "f*#k the winches!, it is more street fairs we need!" I agree. The next fair is in a carpark just off the main street at Blairgowrie. We will wait until Wednesday before we can get access.

a fairground life(Irvine end)

Saturday
The rain came on Saturday morning (surprise surprise). We opened at 12pm and by 1pm the fair was very busy. There was a large police presence this year to enforce the alcohol ban. In previous year I had never seen so much alcohol being consumed in public by people from children to pensioners! This year all I seen were two people take a sly swig from their concealed stash. The rain eased by 2pm and we did have a very good afternoon. By tea time the families were all away and only the teenagers remained until closing at 10pm. There is no pulling down after 10:30pm so I left the DZ built up and drove straight to Dunkeld to help "r" finish the skydiver and miami. I got there just after midnight. The miami was ready to couple up. I stopped him from finishing off the skydiver, he only had to lift it for coupling and pick up the mains etc. We coupled the miami up and took it out of the field ready for Sunday morning. In bed for 1:30 am.
Sunday
Up at 6:30 am. Jumped in the miami lorry and took it to Dundee for a funday. We got it built up and ready for the back of 9am. That was when I noticed a dripping hydraulic pipe on one of the motors. Taking no chances we replaced it with the spare. At that my wife came and picked me up. We drove all the way back to Dunkeld so I could pick up a unit to swap for the one on the DZ (I need this generator for the skydiver at the next fair) then on to Irvine (dropping off this unit at the yard and picking up the new light box for the miami en route) for me to pull down the DZ and move it back to the yard. Meanwhile "r" and the labourer would operate the miami then pull it down. Luckily for me, my brother moved it on for me so I didn't have to go all the way back up to Dundee. When I got back to Irvine the DZ was the only ride still standing. It was well after 3pm now and I needed to get a move on. I got a hand from another showman's labourer and we had the DZ ready for the road for 5:30pm. I was back in the yard for 7pm and then swapped the units over. Tomorrow I will take the skydiver unit (with generator) back up to Dunkeld to pick the ride up.

Confused? Me too!

a fairground life

Another fine night at Irvine. All the big rides were reasonably busy from 7pm. "r" phoned me from "Dunkeld", the miami running light box was not working. When he opened it up it was totally blown inside. I've ordered another one from an electronics wizard who makes them at home. To get us over the fair "r" wired all the lights just to stay lit. He also repaired the water lasers with fibre glass tape and resin today. I first used fibre glass 20 years ago. I had made a new cash box for the upright paratrooper. It was a box section frame panelled with aluminium sheets. It was very tinny sounding inside and I was concerned about the panels getting dented-so I applied resin and matt to the inside of the panels. 20 years later the cash box is on the skydiver and not a single dent. I then went on to make moulded front handrails with impregnated colours and metal flake glitter. I had to make a mould for this and at the start I destroyed the first four until I got my first handrail lift. Eventually I got the system down pat. Since then I have made rounding boards, chair o plane seats, center panels, domes, balls and moulded car panels for the juvenile skydiver,adult skydiver, twist and a juvenile twist. Handy stuff this fibre glass, but it stinks when you are working with it, its messy, it irritates your skin and when you cut it, you need to wear a mask as the dust will cut your lungs.
It does not rust or rot though and that makes it pretty maintenance free.

a fairground life(Irvine view)

I made it back to Irvine just after 6pm. The weather was scorching all day and there were a few people about. I have only attended this fair for the last few years. The older tenants say that the Wednesday night has improved over the last few tears.
I took a couple of pictures of the fair, one is from the top of the DZ. There are 13 large rides this year. Two are making debut appearances- the speed buzz and dropzone.

a fairground life

I went back to Irvine today to finish off the DZ. I cleaned all the greasy finger prints off the ride, set the unit & generator on the plot and dug in the main (cable). The paybox roof had been leaking, so I went over the seems with silicone sealer. The funhouse was to open here, but due to a re shuffle of equipment on the fair there was a slip up in measuring the plot and I have had to take it away again. The sickener is that I will drive it all the way back to nearly where it came from, Dunkeld!
This is a large fair, but the terrain is very un even and sloping and means that there are large gaps between some items. The engineer that a lot of showmen use was on site today selling packing (wooden blocks), that's how un even the ground is. The DZ is on a center plot and looks well there. I will take a couple of snaps for the blog. The fair opens on Wednesday night. "r" went to Dunkeld to build up the miami and skydiver. He told me that the ground there was that soft, every time he put the rides on the packing-it sank and he had to re level it again. I have alway said- if you can do away with packing, then you have cracked it!

a fairground life(crieff games)

Sunday
Hallelujah!!! It stopped raining at 7am in the morning. I got up at 8am and finished a few odd jobs. We opened shortly after 11am. The park was mushy where the traffic had been coming in, but dried out as the afternoon went on. By 6pm the sun was splitting the sky. Business was up to expectations (at last). I understand the gate was just over 5000 people for the highland games. The O2 flag on top of the DZ had got snagged overnight and never flew on the main day!! Shame for the sponsors!!
When I tried the skydiver in the morning, it wouldn't go again. It turned out that the sticky valve was a sympton of the real problem- voltage drop to the motor due to a faulty extension cable. So I ended up running two generators on the day so that a single cable would reach the skydiver. The sound of the pump running had tipped me off that the power supply was not right. When we closed at 6pm I had arranged for extra staff to come for the pull down. The three rides were almost coming down at once. As soon as the skydiver was ready I took it away to the next fair at Birnam. It was just getting near dark when I arrived there. I took a chance to try and set it on its position. No go- it got stuck about 20ft from the plot. So I left it there for the night. When I got back to Crieff at around 10:30 pm "r" had the DZ out and was just coupling up the miami. That was it for the night. "r" got in his car and drove it back to Glasgow (with no clutch) for a uni exam the next morning.
Monday
Miami over to Birnam. This ride pulled onto it's plot easily. Then I spent an hour towing the skydiver back and forth until we eventually got it into a position where it could build up without hindering the operation of the fair. It's only 9ft from the origional position, but to try and place it exact would have left the field cut to shreds and covered in ruts. After this I went back to Crieff and picked up the DZ and drove it to Irvine. "r" met me there and we built the ride up. It was 9:30pm when we finished and getting dark. This is a very large and busy fair. It was chartered by Mary Queen of Scots, hence the name Irvine Marymas.

a fairground life(st andrews 2)

Various pictures from St Andrews Lammas Market.
Sunday
Everyone went to the lay-by where the rides were parked, to wait for the police to call us up to the street. We waited from 3:30pm and at 4:45pm the go ahead came. Several of us had to go up a one way street the wrong way to get access. The traffic warden on duty at the time stopped the traffic and waved us through. There was another at the end of the street to halt the traffic there too. I got onto the ride plot just before 5pm. We set the dropzone on the plot so as to keep a nearby fire hydrant clear. This meant I was 9ft behind the building line, but this would have an advantage- I ran out a measuring tape to the trees and lamp posts opposite the ride. Eureka! the pole would miss the obstacles with a foot to spare, so no hassle with trying to half raise the pole and then shunt the ride onto the plot. In my haste to build the ride up, I forgot to put the bass bins under the floors before we lowered them, so we had to raise them again. We had the ride all set up for 7:30pm. Then I went down for the water lasers. It only took a few minutes to set them up. Job done for the day.
Monday
"R" and I went up just before 9am to check on things. I inspected the ride while he went to organise the water lasers. A few minutes later he came back. "We have a problem!" he said. The water lasers were empty!!! They had sprung a leak on the road (probably due to a pot hole) and all 800lts of water was gone. I went down to see for myself, sure enough they were bone dry. Where was I going to get more water from??? Then I had a brainwave- In the street along the fair, the council had placed fire hoses in boxes every 200 yards or so. Lucky enough one was immediately behind the water lasers. We ran the hose out and filled them up again. That's what we did on the hour, every hour until 10pm at night. The water was pouring out the seem at the bottom, but the hose kept it topped up. Where there's a will, there's a way! That night the fair closed just after 11pm.
Tuesday
Up at 9am and straight to the street to try and repair the water lasers. I had one tube of silicone sealer. I applied a generous bead along the seems under the chassis. I used the whole tube. At 10:30am after some drying time, we went back to re fill the water. It wasn't perfect, but the water had slowed to a constant dripping. We only had to fill them in the morning that day. Business is always slower on the Tuesday, then at 3pm the rain came in torrents and stayed all night. By 10pm most rides were pulling down. We had to wait until the superbob was totally away before we could lower the pole. So after waiting for 90 minutes we finally got started. At 1:30am we cleared the street. I let "r" drive the lorry off the street, down to the lay-by( about 1 mile ) to give him a taste of things to come.
Wednesday
I was supposed to be going to a oneday event in Cupar, but the rain has threatened the event due to the ground conditions, I will only find out if they will let me onsite just prior to the event at 6am Thursday morning. So now I wonder if it will be on or off? Instead of being in and setup I will have to do it all tomorrow now, oh and "r" is at uni for two exams. I left the Dz at St Andrews and I have went to our next fair at Crieff so I could bring the other rides onsite from Stirling. In the morning I will go for the DZ and either stop at Cupar for the event or carry straight on back here. It will depend on the weather and the park keeper's decision tomorrow.
Thursday
6:15 am, I phoned to see if the event would be on. The reply was that if the army could get on site without sinking then it would be ok for me. I had to go and pick up the ride at St Andrews so off we went any way. On the way back I stopped at Duffus Park to find out what was happening. I got on site in the park for shortly after 9am. The labourer and I had the Dzone setup for 11am. The weather was good and at 6pm we pulled the ride down. I was on the road for 7:45 pm. It was a good trip back to Crieff. I have decided that the skydiver ERF is my best lorry. Quieter, comfortable,twin splitter gearbox (some others have told me they hate them, I just comment that this is because they don't know how to drive one!!!) and everything works. I have been using this on the DZ lately because it has a generator mounted behind the cab.
Friday
I started the day by setting all the rides on their plots. It took over an hour to do this as I measured everything out exactly as space it tight. I ordered diesel for the generators. By early afternoon I had the miami built up. At that "r" had returned from Glasgow. The slave cylinder on his car is leaking and he had to dive the car catching the gears on the revs. He had been away for two days as he had exams. "w" my daughter had also been staying with her grandparents and had her first two days at high school. With "r" back we got the DZ up by teatime. We are flying the games sponsors flag from it. O2 mobile this year. To finish the day off I spent some time doing welding repairs on the hinges of the skydiver chassis. We will erect this tomorrow.
Saturday
I heard my brother arrive with the twist ride. I jumped up to show him his position. The rain was falling and had been from late last night. "r" and the labourer started on the skydiver. There were another couple of welding jobs to be done on two handrails. I phoned a mechanic we use in Glasgow to order the parts for "r" 's car.We tried out all the rides ready for tomorrow. The skydiver went the first time and then would not work. I quickly traced the fault to a sticky relief valve. I had this problem 14 years ago when the hydraulic system was new. I removed the valve and cleaned it. The ride worked fine after that. The big set is powering all three rides here (200KVA), to try and ensure no problems I changed the fuel filter.The rain continued to fall and we were all soaked through. The games park is starting to go muddy were the vehicles enter. I hope, no I PRAY it is dry for tomorrow.

a fairground life(st andrews)

I returned from Glasgow just in time to pick up the toyset and take it up to the square. As it is very tight in the square and the town is always busy, all the rides go up in sequence with timed intervals between them. When I was a kid, I can remember sitting in the cab of the lorry with my father behind the wheel waiting for the go ahead. Any way when I arrived in the square I still had to wait nearly 2hrs for the dodgem trucks to move out the way. I got the wee ride set on the plot and levelled it off, but I didn't finish erecting it so that it would not get abused over night. The next morning at 8am I went up with "r" and finished the job. When we tried the ride out at 9am, the top running lights would not work!!! Straight away I phoned "b" to ask if there had been any problems at the last fair. He told me "no", but in the past he had had problems with the brush gear. So a point of note to you all- If you have problems with an electrical device, BEFORE you crawl under with a torch and check the brushes, then remove the center panels and check the running light box, trace the wire down the chassis for breaks, open the junction box for loose connections, open the control box to inspect the contactors, BEFORE you do any of this OPEN THE PLUG AND CHECK THE WIRES ARE ALL CONNECTED!!!! I am releived though that this was the simple answer to my problem.
Last night I took my wife to the picture to see Hairspray, the last time I was in that picture hall would be over thirty years ago when my brother and I went to see the "Bigbus". That what I remember from my youth at St Andrews, going to the pictures while my father and mother were watching the arcade and snack bar. There used to be two picture halls, but now there is only one, Oh, while I remember, the toyshop is gone now, it is a woolen shop these days.

Tomorrow night we go up on the street with the dropzone. I have sourced the route I will have to take. It is up a one way street the wrong way!!! Thats the only way I can get access into the plot and have the ride facing the front. I Hope the traffic warden is friendly.

a fairground life

Tomorrow I will pick up spare filters for the generators before I return to St Andrews. I will have to be back by early afternoon as that is when the loads start getting access to the square. The town is very busy and it is pandemonium. The shoppers have some funny looks on their faces when they see all the funfair gear stopping in the middle of the street and starting to erect.

a fairground life(washed out)

Picture of the crazy frogs at B of A, The freakout is in full swing in the background.

Disaster Disaster, that's all I can say regarding this years Bridge of Allan fair. On the opening night we opened at 6:30pm. It was slow until nearly 8pm. There was a few people on the groung until around 10pm and business was on par with last year. Unfortunately that was the high point of the fair. Thursday was well back on last year, Friday night was a major let down. The rides should have been busy until 11pm, but the fair was closed by 10:30pm! Saturday afternoon was quiet, as was Saturday night. Now we can't blame the weather for these days as the rain was very light and only for short periods before closing.
Sunday was a washout. The rain started at 10am and never stopped until Monday night 6pm. The crowds never appeared on the fairground. The games did go ahead, but the fairground struggled all day. By 8pm the fair was pulling down and to be honest any time after 7pm would have been late enough. "r" and the labourer started on the skydiver and I pulled down the miami. The rain was falling that heavy, we were all soaked right through to our under wear. At 10:20pm these two rides were done. We had to leave the dropzone until the next morning as other rides were in the way for lowering the pole. I would have left it anyhow as I was totally soaked, cold and demoralised due to the bad business and weather. Speaking to another showman about the situation, he said to me-"just shows how fragile our trade is, I mean, it's not an earthquake or natural disaster! It's just rain."
He was totally right. Monday late morning and we started to pull down the DZ. The ground was sodden with water and a tractor had arrived to start towing out some of the loads. I managed to get the skydiver and miami out under their own steam, but the DZ needed a tug to get it onto the path. I took the miami and skydiver and parked them a showmans yard in Stirling as they are closed this week.
Tuesday
Two rakes to St Andrews today. First was the Dz, parked in a layby awaiting the street pull in. The second was the caravans as these park on the Links. St Andrews is an unusual setup. It is two seperate fairs. The first is in the town square from Friday thru to Tuesday. The other is in a street just off the square for Monday and Tuesday only. Both fairs are regarded as Gaffs (very good business).
I have came to this fair since I was a child, our arcade stood in the square and we had to cut it down to fit the plot. Eventually my father made it modular so it could erect properly into a smaller size for St Andrews. In the heyday of the fair back in the seventies, when the arcade was open, we had to stand outside as there was not enough room inside for all the customers.
I spent most of the day with my nose pressed up against the toyshop window just across the road. I wonder if it is still there? This is not the first time I will stand on the street part of the fair, I did so about 18 years ago with a juvenile ride.
The Dz build up will be tricky, as the street is not broad enough to swing the pole around when the ride is set on the plot. We will have to set it back from the building line, swing the pole around into position, raise it slightly, re couple the lorry and shunt the ride onto the correct position, then raise the pole fully and finish off. Could be an interesting build up!!!