a fairground life (End SECC)
We headed over to the mall on Sunday morning early. The idea being to thaw the lorry out and move it over to the secc for removing the DropZone. The temperature was above freezing for the first time in weeks, a whole 2 degrees. I was apprehensive about starting the lorry up after sitting so long in sub zero temperatures. "r" jumped in the cab and turned the key............BROOOOM! as the engine growled to life, it was smokey, but even running. We just let it tick over for a few minutes to let the oil circulate and thin out. I listened carefully, thankfully there were no knocks or whinning noises. The next issue would be the air, would it build up pressure or would moisture in the system or valves be frozen? Again we watched carefully and the gauges moved up to 8 bar. Not out of the woods yet as we had to see if the brakes would come off, as I released the hand brake there was a reassuring hiss of air, I let the clutch up and with a small clunk the lorry broke free of all restrictions. Lucky, lucky me, no doubt if it had been a few degrees lower like the days before it would have been a different story. I took the lorry over to the secc and left it in carpark 5 ready for pulling out.
Fast forward to 10pm and the secc finally closed. The DZ had performed beyond my expectations mechanically as we had only replaced one small guide ballrace and a couple of brushes. Before we started to pull down "r" went up the tower and tightened up all the loose caps on the lighting. There was a good many and if we had lowered the tower before doing this, they would have all fallen off. When we lowered the tower for pulling down, it was over the top of the superstar. We was beat for about 12" (300mm) to get the tower down and swing the pole around so we lifted it again and put 3" (75mm) block onto the tower cradle. When we lowered the tower down again this gave us the clearance needed to swing the pole around over the superstar, then we raised the tower slightly to remove the blocks. After that it was an easy pull down and with the help of "skyliner C" we were out by midnight. Only 48 weeks before it all starts again.
The picture is some of the lorries lined up waiting for the pull out.
posted by showman @ 12:58
19 Comments
19 Comments:
how was buisness at the secc then this year showman compared to last year, glad the lorry started first time god must been on ur side for a first lol, cheers borderer. hope all regulars are well and thawing out as well as the weather lol. miss borderer is finally home after another 10 hour round trip to collect her im glad as i dont have to fend for myself now haha.
biz at the secc was exactly the same as last year to the penny, that's cos we are nearly all on a flat hire fee. I think the footfall was probably on par too, the last weekend saw the DZ ride 6000 punters! so the secc ticket office must have had good sales when you multiply that by the number of rides, carparking etc but no doubt they need it to keep the event running for the future.
6000 punter jeeso imagine if that was a normal fair would be a roaring trade lol. whats on the cards from now until the 2010 season starts, i presume the 2010 dates page will be getting uploaded soon. miss borderer just said to me that "showman gives a great insight into the life of himself and his fairground rides and the blog is great" so you have another fan lol. cheers borderer
good day all hows things, glad the snow is finally shifitng down here in the borders can see grass and roads on the farm now lol, just done my annual accounts so glad thats out the way, today a local and international legend died in our home town, bill mc laren as you may all no him as the bbc five nations commentator was a close family friend. hows all regs cheers borderer and miss borderer
You thinking of adding chevy parts to the unit showman? Glad to hear it fired up ok and that the dz was ok for the secc. 6000 punters in the last weekend is a lot of strain on any tool, at least it didnt let you down.
Making a start on repairs for the season start, i know its a long way off but it always takes me a while to get things done. Chassis of trailers to sand and paint and some brake cables starting to show signs of wear so will take the chance to replace them and overhaul couplings and suspension.
Pre mot this month for the big van and then mot next month, hope its ok need a few years out of her yet.
Sorry to hear of bill mc laren borderer, i am not a rugby fan but have heard him commentate many times. How is everyone? What of blakey??
evening all was browsing scotlands fairgrounds archives and came across 3 great pics that showman will remember well http://scotlandsfairgrounds.fpic.co.uk/p62889383.html
happy viewing tell us where and when as i would love to no cheers borderer. hope all
A great set of photos on that site, it takes me back to my teens travelling with mr Pullar
I had a look at those picts, the first would be 80-86 and the second & third would be 92-93. I cant beleive that BK or myself were not caught in the snaps as the lorry is running and we would not leave the pole unattended until the last leg was on, so we would be working at the rear of the lorry.
thanks for the insight showman good to see pics of back in the day heck i wasnt born when the first ones were taken im just a young in. whats on at the moment then showman many thanks. borderer.
good morning all, been while since i last posted, alot has happened in that time, we have had our planning application granted for building a new 6 bedroom farm house with acre garden and miss borderer has been promoted at her work, hows all the regulars doing, i cant believe its february tomorrow already hope all well. cheers borderer
6 bedrooms! that's not a house its a hotel! congratulations borderer
yes 6 bedrooms seems a bit drastic but will be good for having the in laws when they come to stay ( which hopefully isnt often) and for future when we think about having children lol so buidling work begins this week its all going fast lol, hows things at the moment showman whats on, hows all the regs many thanks borderer.
i go for a quick weekend in italy to see venice and verona, and borderer starts work on a hotel ! lol
lol the empire is growing ha ha, ah nice to get away to italy for the weekend "r" id rather be there than erecting the huge timber kit for the new farm house, how is blakey,jesters and all other regulars, start of the six nations this weekend and miss borderer and wags are away to the scotland game as one the wags other half plays for scotland so vip tickets i was invited but needs must she wants her house built haha.
Hi Showman and all regulars as well
Hope all is well. Very quiet with me. Still trying to get my head round new shifts at work, and constantly arguing with Vodafone about my contract. It pays to complain lol
Are you still open at the mall Showman?
All the best
Skyliner C
hi all, building work has began on the new farm house(hotel as showman calls it lol), miss borderer is allready out purchasing items like carpets,furniture and bathroom suites and the build has just started, glad i kept back some grain until the winter prices were good lol, hows all the regs doing "r" how was italia cheers borderer.
Hi all, borderer thats a lot of rooms how many floors? Sounds like a skyscraper to me. Hope you have a good builder, it makes things so much easier.
Things here have been pretty quiet, just getting the old girl prepped for the mot. Nothing drastic this time thankfully, some maintenance in the shape of four back tyres, and a full service. A new fan belt and tension pulley are still to be done but will pick those up when it is in for mot prob in 2 weeks time.
Just the set to do and trailer bits and just about ready.
Was very quiet today, prob due to the rugby. Hope next weekend better needing the pennys.
Hope all are well, what you been up to showman?
its over 3 floors entrance hall,living room to left with open plan kitchen dinner,utility room. office to right of entrance hall, 2 en suite master bedrooms, second floor 2 double bedrooms both ensuite, and another computer/office room and into loft further 2 bedrooms. miss borderer wants walk in wardrobes to god she has her heart set on them too lol. double garage aswell lol. yes have a good squad of builders,electricians plumbers and carpenters all at hand so its all go, glad to get it done this time year when its quiet on the farm before lambing comes up. hows all the rest of u guys doing. cheers borderer
Italy was good but that was really more down to Venice than anything else. Verona was no better than a day out in glasgow (if not a lot worse). Venice was good tho had a wee go in a gondola and saw some of the sites as for the people, well lets just say that i wont be moving there anytime soon..... strike that i wont be moving there full stop. lol got the skydiver in the shed just now only we jobs this time rounds and will be out soon but im sure that will be covered in the next post.
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