a fairground life

Tuesday
It is fast approaching christmas. To get organised we went and picked up the box truck from Stirling. It has the santa sleigh ride inside. We have had this ride since 2001, but it has only done 9 months work in that time, well I don't think santa would go down too well in July. Over the next couple of days the lads paint the white picket fences on the ride.
Thursday
The first of November and the x-mas lights get switched on in the mall to-night. We opened from 5:30pm - 8:30pm. The rain was very heavy and business was poor as a result.
Friday
At 9:15pm the mall closes and we start to erect the santa ride.The location access has a 3 ton weight limit so we have to move the ride in piece at a time using a car and trailer. This takes 6 separate trips and over 12 miles are clocked up from site to box truck. It is after 1am when the ride is completely erected. Back home and in bed for 2am.
Saturday
The routine returns to normal and I am in my box again for the next two afternoons minding the DZ.
Monday
The fair here needs some equipment shuffled now as other rides are coming in for christmas. As a result I am moving the Dropzone to another position. There was one problem though, on the new plot I would not be able to swing the tower around. To overcome this I moved the ride with the tower partially raised. This made the vehicle over 70ft long, but it was only a short shift (75m). By 4pm the ride was re-erected on the new plot and ready for the weekend.
Tuesday 6th
Spent an afternoon minding the santa train. I know its only November, but it is a short seasonal window of opportunity for this attraction so everyday counts.

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