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.