Monday, 31 December 2007

a fairground life(years end)


Another year over. This one has seen my empire (ha ha) grow with the addition of the dropzone. It took me to a couple of new horizons, of which Egremont was my favourite. This ride did put a bit of novelty back into this season for me. As I look back (easy now with a blog) I can honestly say I've been lucky. No serious problems, no accidents and all family members accounted for. No matter what was broken or damaged, my father always said, "it's only nuts and bolts son,if there was something wrong with one of us, that would be a problem!" How true.
As for business, no matter how much you have or how much you get, it will never be enough, so I don't worry about that as long as the bills are paid. Any way all showmen say the same thing-"it was better than this last year!" Maybe it was, we must have short memories though cos we would have thrown in the towel long ago!
So this year gone, my last christmas and new year in this wagon. Looking to the future.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!


An old photo of the upright paratrooper at Kirkcaldy Link Market 1984/5. The ride was re decorated in the 90s.

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Monday, 24 December 2007

a fairground life

Last week, we had the unusual task of helping another showman set up his bungee tramps on an ice rink! The ice had been removed of course (by six men with sledge hammers and wheel barrows, it was so cold, it had not melted even though it was indoors). Erecting the equipment was easy, the problem was that it was fitted onto a 24ft trailer and this had to be lowered down a narrow set of stairs.
Planning was the key to success, as a result he had borrowed a couple of pairs of ramps from beaver tail trailers. The ramps were setup down the stairs. We pushed the trailer inside and lined it up with the ramps. To make sure it would not run away from us, we pushed in a car to use as an anchor. To this we attached a battery winch and began to slowly lower the trailer down. The length of the trailer proved a problem. We had to keep jacking it up to gain ground clearance then pack up the ramps to suit. Lower the trailer a few feet and then repeat the process. There was only 2 inches of clearance at each side of the stair well and at one point I thought we were going to have to remove the stairwell handrails. Fortunately this was not needed and after nearly two hours the trailer was down the stairs and positioned on the rink. The real problem will be getting it back up again when the gig is over!!!!! Gravity can be a great friend, but an even worse enemy.


Christmas Eve! As the song says, it's the best time of the year. It is also my favourite day of the year, better than the big day it's self. Tonight late late on, us parents will be waiting for the kids to nod off so we can lay out our presents. (Don't worry kids we are always in bed before Santa comes calling! ) A showman's wagon is quite a confined space, so sneaking in items is difficult, especially if the suspension is soft.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Saturday, 22 December 2007

a fairground life(aecc)

The year was coming to an end again, it was late October 1991 (ish). We were opened at Dunfermline, a quite unremarkable, quiet fair. The only hope of earning some decent money before closing for another season was the fireworks display at Bridge of Allan on November 5th. Things were to take a turn for the better though, my wife's uncle "j a" came in and told us that the Aberdeen exhibition & conference center would be hosting a christmas carnival. They were looking for rides etc to attend. At the time I was traveling the upright paratrooper and a juvenile waltzer ride that I had built the winter before. The wee ride was clean and tidy but had absolutely no artwork on it. Deciding to have a go for the carnival "j a" drove me to Aberdeen to meet with the manager. We had agreed before hand that I would take his juvenile train ride up also to create a kind of package deal.
We arrived at Aberdeen (my first ever visit to the city) and met with the manager. The set up was quite simple, the center would hire all rides and charge an entrance fee, all customers would ride free. We presented a few photos of the equipment, j a did most of the talking (he has kissed the blarney stone). When asked about the juvenile waltzer "j a" said, "we don't have any photos of it as it is in the painters being re decorated (this was a lie), what is it being themed as?", j a turned to me, I instantly blurted out the first cartoon theme that entered my head---"teenage mutant ninja turtles" I said. With that I submitted the hire fee. When we left I said to j a , "what will I do if we get in?" He answered-"get the paint brushes out!". I almost didn't want to get accepted now. The paratrooper was not the best ride in the world. It was clean and tidy, had decent lighting but as a thrill ride, was old hat. Luckily our strong point was the two juvenile rides. The center did not have enough applications for kids attractions and our two would ensure our acceptance. A month later the letter came through. Now all I had to do was paint the waltzer cars. It was early December, we were wintered at Bridgeton Glasgow. I had been using an old M reg Ford D series to pull the juvenile waltzer. It had a low 16ft box body on it. I emptied it right out so that I could paint the waltzer cars in it and then hope fully (if it would fit) pack the juvenile train ride in for transporting to Aberdeen. My wife bought some comic books, I removed the cars from the ride and put them in the box body. It was freezing inside. I used a 500w halogen to see and heat the paint work. The light was positioned close to where I was working and this helped dry the paint and stop it from drying flat. Every night I would do one part of a car, and every night my wife would hand in a 25p mixture bag from the ice-cream van to keep me going. After two weeks the job was done and everything put back together again. j a and I did manage to get his juvenile ride to fit into the back of the D series with enough space left over for the transformer (I borrowed from Portobello fun park again) to fit into. The D series only had a small four cylinder engine but it did get there and back (slowly).
It was 5am when we left Glasgow on a white December morning. My wife was following in her VW Golf with "r" (about 4 at the time) towing "b"s wee trailer. This (at the time) would be my longest single journey (140miles), I was worried about getting lost in Aberdeen, breaking down, having a puncture and being pulled in by the commissioners. I'm glad to say all went well. When I arrived at the center we set the wagon in the rear carpark and put the lorry in the building. The next day we built the paratrooper up inside. It was a neat fit and we had to set the ride so that it fitted in between the roof beams. I could not erect the front headboard as the uprights were designed to be staked into the ground, so we only erected the perimeter fence. The next day "j a" arrived with the wee machines and we quickly got them set up. The wee waltzer needed washed though as the road spray was about an inch thick over it.
For the next three weeks we opened in the warm and dry. After the first week we sent "r" back to Glasgow with his grand parents. He had a peddle car that he rode around in the hall on. Only thing was that he insisted on running into people deliberately! Then the top hat on it was when he decided to enter the paratrooper ride by walking through the fence and under the loading platform while the ride was going! He was so short that the carriages flew over his head, I dived out to get him and give him a row for it. Poor "sm" had seen him from his arcade and sprinted across the hall to try and catch him, what a fright he got. So "r" was sent packing for all our benefit. He came back only for x-mas day with our parents and then sent away again until we returned to Glasgow. That had bonuses though, every night after closing my wife and I could go out, it was like a kind of holiday. There was only one minor hiccup. One day a customer came off the ride and complained that the ride was not safe. It turned out that he was a fitter in a well known tyre&exhaust franchise (the quick ones). He said that the shock absorber on the ride was not right. He complained to the management who in turn sent for the H S E. I knew the ride was ok but I still had a knot in my stomach, what if they wanted me to leave? would I get paid? etc etc. Anyhow when the HSE came I showed them around the paratrooper.It turned out that the complaint was because of wear on a shocker mounting eye bush. This had play on it. I removed the shock absorber and made the ride go. I explained that this did not hold the carriage on and that the shocker was only to smooth the ride out. Further more it was not the same application as a car shock absorber. I also replaced the bush for arguments sake. With that all parties were happy and it was business as usual.
There were a couple of English showmen here as well. "n pont" had the first ARM skymaster I ever saw here. It was lit up outside to act as advertisement. J collins had taken delivery of his new tri star ride here. It came brand new from the factory. Little did I know I would buy a miami from him 12 years later. Clarkes had their waltzer here. To further promote the fair "sm" drove his juvenile ferris wheel around the city center while erected and lit up by a petrol Honda!
Very late one night we were all awoken by a loud bang, we thought it was a bomb or something. It turned out that one of the lorries had a blow out while sitting in the carpark! Business was not great for the AECC management. The attractions I can remember were ponts skymaster, whites easyrider ark, clarkes waltzer&quasar, whites sizzler twist, collins tri star, gambles ski jump, whites dodgems, johnsons big wheel and possibly some more I cant remember.The old paratrooper was one of the busiest rides in the place, but only rode between 400-600 passengers per day and most of those were repeats. It was easy money for us and we were paid in three installments by cheque. My wife spent the first one on a telly & video recorder! (things were tough back then). We left Aberdeen and returned to Glasgow mid January, right back to where we had started from. I really enjoyed it there. What a great new years party we had. I will try to find some photos.

Tuesday, 18 December 2007

a fairground life




The weeks are rolling in now. My father did warn me that the older you get the faster the years go by. This week we start the christmas fair at the mall and we will be open everyday. In another few weeks that will be another season over. That list of jobs I had written out has never been looked at, but not to worry, I have an ace up my sleeve! I have managed to secure the let (temp of course) of a large shed. So from Jan to March I will be as happy as larry to say the least, all those undone jobs and loads more will get done. What a relief as I was beginning to worry slightly about getting everything done. Its funny the difference a roof and four walls makes, its always (*)dry, never windy and its easier when you can leave the tools out ready for the next job. There is also an overhead crane, this will make crack testing the rides so easy. Other times I had to arrange a hiab to remove the arms from the skydiver, once we even done it with a block and tackle and jib arm! The other thing about being in a shed is that it seems like a proper job, you go at 9am and come back for tea (thats at the start, by the second month you are usually so far behind in the work that you start coming home at midnight!). So the new floor will be going on the skydiver along with fresh paint, rewired lighting, chassis painting, NDT testing, new bushes etc etc etc. Thats another thing about a shed, you seem compelled to do every little job and more to justify the expense of the let. The last time I was indoors working was 3 years ago. I started on everything at once, new suspension on the skydiver, trailer modifications to the miami, winch fitted to the show and much much more, every thing I owned was in bits. It began to tell on me as I felt I was in a muddle and getting no where. Eventually after 3 months of graft we did get everything back together and finished for starting out.There will be plenty of jobs to write about and pictures of work in progress this time (if anyone was interested). Problem is the more jobs you do the more money you are spending. Don't tell my wife, but unless she's been hiding funds, bang goes any holiday.
The best thing about being in a shed is that there will be other showmen in working on their equipment too and visitors up for a chat or nosey, so plenty of company and laughs to be had. Like the time we had Blakey going mental with his new 4 inch grinder. Fresh out the box, every time he switched it on we turned the power off. We told him to check the wire, fuse etc.We even had him take out the fuse and turn it end for end in case it was only letting the power through one way!!! Its a fuse not a diode yah DONKEY! Then we had him shake it while we flicked the switch and told him it was his brushes arcing inside. We had him shake and tap it while buffing and after a few seconds we would switch the power off again. This we repeated for several minutes. He had no idea what was going on and when his curses finally echoed all around the shed, we all fell about laughing, then the penny dropped. One four inch grinder £40, one Blakey wind up---priceless! That said I better watch my back this year.

* On more than one occasion I have worked in sheds with roofs that leaked like sieves, floors that held the cold so much it was warmer outside (and this was in the winter) or so damp that the paint would not dry inside! Once I even worked in a shed with 2 inches of pigeon s@*t on the floor! That must have been a health hazard. As they say-Any port in a storm!

pictures from previous shed maintenace and look at the miami, it had a gloss like a shiny new pin.

Friday, 14 December 2007

a fairground life (the kelvin hall)

Things are a little slow at the moment, no doubt as you can tell by the lack of content in the blog lately. There are a number of other showmen awaiting new year fairs around the country. The SECC carnival will kick off next week too. However the Kelvin Hall was the best. I can remember back to the 1970s-80s when the fair was in there. It ran for a much longer period than the secc event does today. Every night was quite busy and when you opened the small back door to get in (trademan's entrance) the atmosphere hit you (aswell as the smell from the elephant pens nearby). The noise seemed to echo around the Hall differently than it does around the secc. All us kids from the winter yards would meet there. Don't forget this was long before texting or email or mobile phones, you had to meet face to face to network! Here was the first place I knew to have a KFC in it! The Stakis (hoteliers) family ran the Kelvin Hall cafe that became a sort of club house for us.
Many showmen worked in the Kelvin Hall during the winter.My aunty had worked for the Glasgow corporation on the turnstiles as there was an admission charge for the Hall, later she moved to the cloakroom. In earlier years both my father and aunty had worked in the circus as ring boy and usherette respectively. I can remember as a small child being shown to my seat to watch a performance and my aunty bringing ice-cream at the interval. If my father was alive today , he would be able to tell some tales of the ring boys pranks. In the very early 80s, I would visit my aunty and keep her company for a while in the cloakroom. The older kids all had jobs on the attractions. Ask anyone of our generation, it was the best time of their lives. The fashion at the time was sweat shirts with your name embroidered across the front, narrow leg jeans and kicker boots (bright coloured), every one collected the kicker tabs and some had dozens laced onto their boots. Whites were still at the top with at least four big rides in attendance here. Many showmen had stances handed down from their parents and some even stored the games in the basement of the hall until the next years event. I bet there are still remnants in there today, hid in some obscure corner or forgotten store. The last year I can remember was when Eddy Grant released Electric avenue, 82/83 I guess. The secc took over the carnival the next year, and the rest as they say is history! Anyone got some old photos from the Kelvin Hall days??? It would be great to see them.

a fairground life

Tuesday-Thursday
Last week my wife and I attended another wedding. It was a three day affair in a prominent Scottish tourist town. The first night in the hotel was more or less a meet and greet. The wedding ceremony was in the hotel the next morning. Just as well as no one was in a fit state to drive anywhere. The reception was for over 400 guests! The toast master was another showman, he was superb and had us all rolling with laughter. The last day was the wind down, finished off with a kareoki and disco. For three nights we never got to bed before 4am. We were all exhausted. What a great time, glad I wasn't footing the bill though.
Friday
Had a late lay in and then off to do a shift on the train.
Saturday
Went to open at the mall. While thawing out the rides "r" noticed a hissing sound from the DZ. I was a bit unsure of what it was at first, but "r" knew right away. It was the emergency blow off on the compressor for the restraints. On closer inspection we could see it was not clicking off (switch stuck) at the set pressure (100 psi). I took off the pressure switch and re adjusted it to a much lower setting and then re set it to 100 psi again. This solved the problem. Then on further inspection of the ride I found a broken wire on the brush gear. The ride has power rails the full height of the tower. These have metallic contacts (brushes) that run up and down to power the gondola lights,compressor,safety systems etc. When a brush loses its contact the ride stops. They are a pain in the a*@e! The brush has a thin metal leg that the wire connects to, these thin parts break off regularly. So an improvement was needed. I got a 100w soldering iron, filed off the stub and soldered a 60mm length of copper wire to each brush. Bingo, the period between brush changes has increased twenty fold. As I have said before, things are ok in theory, it's only when you are working with the equipment that you can honestly say you know what is what. Next it was onto the miami, the speed was slower than usual. I went to the most likely cause-the battery charger. (the miami is controlled by a 12v dc dynex, the joystick provides a current from 0-10v to activate the ride. The higher the voltage the faster the ride goes). Right enough the charger was switched off, but how? It was on last week, no one can get to it as it is in the back of the ride! Mystery! Anyhow it was a quick fix.
Monday-Thursday
spent the last few days clearing out ready for christmas, all the old unused toys,books,clothes etc. Four bins full! Well there is only so much room in a wagon (no attic to pack it all in). While doing so I found some old fuel receipts from 1994. It frustrated me as 400 liters of gas oil cost £50 (£205 today) and 15.84 liters of derv cost £9 (£17.80 today). At that time the average price of a ride was around 80p, now a ride is £1.50-£2 so are we any worse off?, probably on the gas oil side as the increase is four fold.
I have attached a digi clip of the Bride and Groom for the first waltz (a tango in this case), they had been practicing for their big day. All I can say is "They were SPECTACULAR!!!" It was nice to see proper dancing and not the usual two foot shuffle around the floor.

Sunday, 2 December 2007

a fairground life

Tuesday
The engineer called (he finally got back from Ireland) the spare wheels were ready for the train that I had ordered.
Wednesday
I went and picked the wheels up and then onto a west coast town to finalise an event I would be attending Friday.
Thursday
The spare shafts for the DZ arrived by courier.
Friday
"r" and I went and picked up the water lasers. We took them out to the west coast town for a Christmas parade. The street had been closed off from 2pm. It was 3pm when we arrived on site. The road was closed, but the cars ignored the closure signs, so we pulled on the pavement and waited for the rush to die down. Shortly after, the first rides appeared and we set the layout. The funhouse had to come in via another street so that when it pulled on site it was facing the right way. However this other street was narrow and it took a couple of shunts to make the turn. We had to create a bit of room by turning the give way sign a bit. The rain was easing off now and for 5pm everything was setup. We waited and waited and then at 6:30 pm the parade appeared. There was a lot of people, 'r' said-"you know in jaws when the guy says 'we are gonna need a bigger boat!', Well we are going to need a bigger fair!"The first wave hit and it was busy for a short spell and then it dwindled away. By 8 pm they were mostly all away. As if on Q the rain started to fall at 9pm and that was the finish. The street was totally cleared of all equipment by 10 pm. It was after 11pm by the time we got home.
Saturday-Sunday... In my box again, nothing much doing. At least no break downs.