a fairground life

Stepped out of the plane at 3:30pm, by 5pm I was on my way to visit my mother in Hospital. Got back to Glasgow for 7:30pm and started to ferry the loads back to the mall for the spring break holidays. First away was the miami, the roads were quiet and within an hour we were back for the DZ. It was still on the skydiver unit (ec10). We cranked it up and I watched the suspension raise. It did look level-ish (within 50mm) but not getting my hopes up I decided to reserve judgement until after the trip. When we arrived on site again we viewed the trailer before we uncoupled. Sure enough it did look level so I guess the extra air pressure from the ec10 has made the difference. To confirm it I will take a pressure reading by gauge then raise the pressure on the ec12 to match. Hopefully that will be the suspension problems on the DZ trailer sorted. Back to the yard again for the skydiver. "r" had fixed the light problem-it was a blown fuse (hidden in an obscure place) that was the fault. He replaced it and that was that. He had also topped up the water system (only 5lts according to him). However halfway back to the mall and the lorry started to boil again. We got it set on site and when I looked underneath, the water was p@!%ing out again. It was too dark to see where from,but I suspect the back of the radiator (my father had a rolls-royce engine before, that had split the radiator and it only leaked when the engine got hot and expanded the crack. Two years in a row on the exact same journey he seized the engine up before he found the split. He put another engine in the lorry and went to find a radiator. He came back with another lorry instead and the first lorry sat on the yard for ten years with the new engine in it, never even started up, until it went to the breakers by suspended tow!!! unbelievable!) So the DZ is only 15t, the skydiver is 29t, I suspect the extra weight is causing the engine to work harder either expanding a split or simply the radiator is choked resulting in a diminished cooling capacity, time will tell. One more trip tomorrow with the show and then we will start setting up.

With the amount of comments we have had lately it seems the blog is turning into a forum! to all anonymous- saying its "me" doesn't really shed much light, how about initials? at least then we can refer to you.

A fairground life

I had only intended to write for a year. To be honest it was as much a scheme to generate traffic to our website as educate the masses. How naive was I ? What did I think, the whole web would click onto my blog and be converted into enthusiasts overnight? Those clicks from the far east maybe exciting at first but then you quickly realise they were probably searching for sushi with the letters F,U,N in the keywords. Lets be honest, only people with interest in the funfair would find the site or bother to click on anyway and these people no doubt understand showmen in the first place. So to enlighten anyone was a foolish statement to make. This was not my reason for stopping however--It seemed that my life revolved around tales of woe and one breakdown after another, take the last 24hrs for example---
Easter Monday-We closed at 7pm after a VERY quiet day business wise. It was freezing cold with intermittent spells of snow. "R" had went and picked up "s" from his hometown to give us a pull down that night. They started on the skydiver while "m" and I did the show. It was so cold the inflatable top felt like sheet aluminium as I was folding it away. Next I moved onto the Miami. I packed up this ride myself in about an hour and then started on the Dropzone. As I was removing the last of the DZ base tower bolts from the ride, I lost my footing and fell onto the ride gondolla (big ouch!). The socket extension bar carried on and put a lovely dent in the tread plate flooring. I landed on my back , probably the best place (second only to my thick head) but its killing me today. At that "r" and "s" had finished the skydiver and came to help with the DZ. "R" told me to go home and they would finish the ride-with the tone of "silly old git! ", anyway I refused (once you start that its the end and how can you continue by yourself again when he's married & gone?). For 11:15 pm we were all packed up. We have nowhere to go for a week so all equipment is to return to the yard. We decide to take the skydiver first but with the DZ unit (we swapped units with the skydiver to see if any change in the DZ air suspension that's still not levelling properly). Right away another problem-the skydiver trailer had side but no tail lights so "r" would follow me back then take "s" home. So off we set, it was only a short 14 mile journey. Good job. About halfway I noticed what I thought was steam. Sure enough about 1 mile from the yard the warning buzzers sounded and the unit began to boil. Keeping an eye on the temperature gauge I nursed the load home. I parked outside the yard for the night. As I got out the cab the steam billowed up high above and as I looked under the unit I could see a heavy water drip. I went to bed and "r" took "s" home. About 1am the phone rings-its "r", something is wrong with his car, it is billowing white smoke and racing at full revs even though he has removed the keys!! I tell him over the phone to stop the engine by stalling it and I get up again to go tow him back. I find him about 1 mile away and we tow the car to the mechanics garage we use. This morning we find out the turbo has blown and destroyed the engine beyond economical repair. All this and the season is only four days started! As Jesters said, (and it did cross my mind before) one day I may look back and enjoy reading my blog, maybe so BUT I will probably be wondering how the hell I ever managed to get about the country! As Blakey said to me, "how many ways can you make breaking down sound interesting?"
So, am I showing this industry in a good light? If I was an airline, nobody would fly! I do like writing, but it would be the same fairs over again, the same equipment ( as this is all I have) and no doubt the same tales of woe. This is why I thought it would get stale. These last comments have been encouraging to say the least, especially the --keep going son! My wife didn't want me to stop (but then she was distraught at the final episode of Sex and the City). Any way-- I thought a good Showman ALWAYS left them wanting more?

All in all, I am feeling a bit tired,
but I will write again,
just less frequently.

A BIG "THANK YOU" TO ALL FOR THE KIND WORDS OF SUPPORT. ;-))

a fairground life(sign off)

I wonder what the new rides will be when the Dropzone is as old as the Carousel?
Good Friday
Arrived on site just before 11am. I did absolutely nothing yesterday (Thursday) except sleep all afternoon and then into bed before 8pm. That was my first day off for eleven weeks. I enjoyed it but it meant I was not finished ready for opening today. I had some mains to run out. I did this and then started the set, Bang! and a puff of smoke from the plugs.I looked at the LCD display and was relieved to see all three phases still had voltage, it must has been some water in a plug that had been shorted out. The generator seemed ok after that. The Miami motor started to leak oil again, so it seems it was removed in vain. The Dropzone ram seals were fine though and the ride worked well today. Old faithful the skydiver worked fine as usual. We had rain,wind,sunshine, hail and even a flutter of snow today--typical Scottish weather. That said it was good to be back out again and more importantly some income after 9 weeks of spending! "R" went to arrange his HGV lessons this morning, so hopefully by the end of the year I will have less lorries to drive myself.
Well it has been a year and a bit since I started writing. I hope I have shed some light on the Showmen's way of life (and it is a way of life because if it was a job we would have all jacked it in for an easier one by now). At times, other showmen's circumstances made for more exciting reading but I would never write about it. The funfairs roll out all over the country again for another season. What has gone before will come again, so in the interests of avoiding repetition I think I will leave it at that. (?)

Thanks for reading.

a fairground life

Arrived on site at 10am and started to wash the DropZone. The ride took 4 hours to wash. I used a gallon of soap and 4 gallons of TFR. Then onto the Miami and Foden unit. There is no power onsite so the 200 kva generator ran 6 hours to power a small jet-washer. Taking into consideration the price of the fuel, I could have sent for a cleaning crew to wash it for me and possibly been no worse off! I had arranged for the DZ to be tested for the season today. The engineer & electrician were busy, so did not turn up until 8pm. While we were waiting "r" and I tried out the music system since we had put it into a new rack system. No surprises it was not working properly-one channel is down. So it seems I would have been better just leaving it all on the floor instead of racking it. On the bright side the ride passed fine and the new ram seals seem to be ok, but its early yet. Got home for 9:30pm, too tired to go to a friends 40th.

a fairground life (a new season)

FREEDOM!!!!
At last out the shed after 9 weeks solid. From 11am we started to move the rides out. I am relieved as we had several break ins over the time. I was lucky not to lose anything, but several other had lost various hand tools. All I can say is at least the thieves were professional enough to take what they wanted and not vandalise the equipment. I took the rides to the Mall for the first fair of the season. Everything is covered in dust. We erected the skydiver first and tried it out. It was very quiet in operation due to the new bushes and pins. The lighting looks like I have never even touched it though, with half the bulbs out!!! Must be wiring problems due to removing the lamp batons and replacing them in different locations. Even today I could find more jobs to do after all the work that had been done. It's never ending and I could not help but wonder-"what's the point?" Will set up the other rides tomorrow.

a fairground life

The pic shows how full the van was. Make no mistake, it was jam packed from front to back.
Wednesday
First job was to put all the scrap metal into the van. We used the crane to move the steel to the van parked just inside the doors. The van was loaded to the max. It was so full the tyres were bulging. Luckily the scrap yard is literally around the corner from the shed. "r" and I took the van there slowly. When it was weighed the van was a staggering 4090kg. We had loaded in by hand over two tons of steel!!
Returned to the shed and tidied away some of the tools we will not be using. There is a lot of gear laying about, so I'm not flustered on Sunday I've started to pick up a little every day. "R" and I did a little work on the interior of the DZ paybox. It has little packing space inside so we made a locker and cupboard to accommodate the bits n pieces that clutter the floor-spare wheels,cleaning products etc. Next "r" made a frame for the music system. The power amp and equaliser are heavy and were left on the floor but now we have a frame that mounts them vertically, this too has freed some floor space.
Thursday
Went and picked up the skydiver skirts.They were in for repair after being damaged in the high winds of January.
In the Guild office again this afternoon, not for complaints this time but for a tenants meeting of a summer fair. It was to decide on advertising and other issues with the running of the fair. Back at the shed by 2pm. Picked up some more rubbish,burnt more papers,boxes and timber. Then helped "d" to get the superbob ride out. It was with great difficulty as the ride is about 300mm longer than when it came into the shed due to a new cash box being fitted. The ride kept getting jammed against the shed door due to the extra tail swing. The ride eventually came out after they used the trailer lifting rams to slide the ride over by raising it up, inserting greased blocks under the wheels at angles then lowering the ride again. After at least an hour the ride was out of the shed.After that "r" cleaned up four wheelie bins of sand from under the skydiver. Finished tonight at 10pm, getting near panic stations for moving out.

a fairground life

Spent all morning and early afternoon in the offices of the Showmen's Guild Scottish section. Over the summer I had made a few complaints regarding other members activities on fairs and events I attended this year. To be honest this is the first time I have had to do this and it seems I have filled my quota. The committee hears evidence from all parties and witnesses and rules on their findings. All sections of the Showmens Guild in Britain have separate committees to hear complaints and generally control members actions,conduct, etc on any fairground in that section. Win or lose, at least you feel you have said your piece.
Back in the shed after teatime. It was too late to start anything major so we tidied away some of the paint tins and tools. I made a 45 gallon drum into a fire and started to burn the timber off cuts, cardboard boxes that were laying about in an attempt to tidy up a bit. Then we emptied the van in readiness for tomorrow as we are going t take the scrap metal away. After that it will be various small jobs until Sunday when we will sweep, sweep, sweep. Still got to investigate the DZ suspension problem. 5 days to go.

a fairground life

Still working everyday in the shed. No matter how much we do,we can still find more to be done.I got a contact for the air suspension on the DZ and received a diagram to alter the system from the suspension manufacturer. We spent two days crawling around under the ride to fit the second levelling valve and guess what-- No Difference--the trailer is still listing at one side. Being sick to the back teeth we left it for the time being. The motor for the miami was ready for uplift so we went to pick it up before the weekend. The crane lifted the motor into place easily but it was awkward to fit- the lifting eye is on top of the motor but the motor mounts at a 45 degree angle, effectivley making the eye useless. Do manufacturers think of anything when it comes to future maintenance? So after messing around with ratchet straps,planks,skates and other assortments of items we finally managed to get the motor into position. We will not know if the leaking shaft seal problem has gone until we get operational. Coming up for the last week until we have to leave the shed. We will keep working until the last few days then it will be a major pick up,pack up and clean up before we move out. The building has been surveyed, I think it is either let,sold or for re-development so not much chance of getting it next year. Never mind, I might get a holiday instead!!!!!!!

a fairground life

With the DZ n.d.t tested by early afternoon I decided to do some work on the show. There had been a leak from the roof over the ball pit. This has been a problem over the summer. Every time it rained we had to catch the drips in carefully positioned buckets! Any how I decided to remove the section of roof to try and repair it. What a disaster! You know, one of them jobs that escalates by the second and before you know it you have done more damage than the job was worth in the first place. I ended up breaking out the roof sheet in question, then having to remove other panels that happened to be in the way, then whilst cutting some bolts off with the grinder---a red hot bolt end fell onto the top of the ball pit and burned a lovely hole right through the top cover. Now that spells disaster- cos if I can't fix the leak 100% then any water will drip down onto the ball pit cover (8ft x 4ft) and find its way through the hole and turn the ball pit into a ball pond literally! By looking at the roof section I have concluded that there is NO way on this earth I will stop the rain from getting in. With no water tight cover on the ball pit there is no way to keep the area reasonably dry. So mind made up-repair roof best I can, seal best I can and then REMOVE the ball pit altogether. After all it is a pain- when you are busy the kids can't get in and out,when the big kids go in they eject the wee kids,when the wee kids go in they get stuck,then lost shoes,socks,phones,glasses. It constantly needs cleaned out and some kids even use it as an urinal! I will replace it with a Ball Forest (my new invention). Low maintenance, no crawling about on the floor so no chance for the kids to get wet or lose anything.
Had some news reagrding the miami motor. It seems that one of the piston seals was knacked, this leads to the theory that the oil passed through the piston chamber and was forced out the shaft seal. Sounds plausible so hopefully when it is returned with new seals fitted all round it will be fine. However this raises the question- if this motor needs seals then maybe the other one will too? Roll on starting out as I need a rest.

a fairground life

Away this morning to a meeting regarding a future fair so did not get back to the shed until 2pm. I called about the Dropzone seals and was told they would be in at 2:30pm. Off I went to collect them and by 4pm I was on my way back. The seals are very fragile and I was warned to take every precaution when fitting them. So I returned to the wagon to fit the three seals into the ram flange. I cleaned it with a cloth and in the seal grooves with cotton buds to remove even the tiniest of debris. Next I smeared everywhere with vasolene. Finally I put the seals in boiling water to soften them up and make them more pliable. I managed to insert the "o" rings and seals with not too much problem after that. They did not seem deformed or marked in anyway. I went to the shed to put the flange onto the ram. I heated the flange & seals by leaving a 500w halogen shining on it for an hour. When we tried it on the rod, it was too tight a fit for us to put on by hand. I wanted to try a hammer to tap it on, but "b" came up with a better idea--he suggested that we use the weight of the lift cradle to press the flange down onto the rod. So using the crane we positioned the cradle over the rod and lowered it down onto the flange. Slowly down,down,down and then the flange pressed down over the rod with a slight plop, plop, plop as it passed through each of the seals. I would have to say that it was a success but we will only know when we try the ride out. NDT testing of the DZ tomorrow then pack it up again. I wanted to solve a problem with the air suspension but its a plumbers nightmare under there and I need some pro advice-any suggestions of who?
"b" is away tomorrow as my brother starts out for his first fair of the year so I will be working alone in the afternoons until "r" returns from uni.