A fairground life (Frozen Solid)

The last couple of weeks have been hellish. The weather has really knackered biz. Not that it's just the weather, no doubt the impending VAT and interest rate rise has everyone a jitter. The fuel is past £1.23 a liter and that's if you can get some as companies still struggle to clear the backlog. I had to transfer some gas oil from one generator to another last week just to get enough for the weekend. R went for LPG this morning and that's on ration too as Grangemouth don't have enough empty bottles to fill. Seemingly people have been scrapping them during the summer!

Anyway we pulled the DZ down last week in freezing conditions. I was a bit nervy about lowering the tower in the cold but there seemed to be no problem. Just aswell that the oil was warm from the ride being open during the afternoon. We didn't finish the ride off that night as we wanted to wash it before it went inside the SECC.We had been waiting for it to warm up a bit, but after a week there was still no sign of a thaw and we just had to attempt it. So Monday morning we went over in minus 4 temperatures. We did our best but the water was freezing as soon as it hit the ride turning the soap / TFR into frozen white icicles hanging from the ride. We got the worst of the salt and grit off the floor but by the time we did four miles to the SEC the ride was covered in spray again.

Tuesday 7:30 am, we headed over there to pull into hall 4. It was minus 13! So the lorry didn't start and we had to use the booster. When it did move it started to chug and I thought the filter was dirty. We pulled the ride into the hall but we had a problem with the DZ's plot. There were wire ropes suspended over the position, probably from a music gig. The organiser was quick to get the cherry picker in after I pointed out the problem. We built the ride up and decided to take the lorry away while it thawed, so I changed the filter before we left. It didn't make any difference though as the lorry still chugged and spluttered about a mile out, no doubt the time taken for the new filter to empty of fuel and the new fuel from the tank must have been freezing up (the problem in the first place). Good job the lorry was solo and the journey only 4 miles. We returned to the SEC to put new wire ropes on the DZ and finish off. The ride had thawed out nicely but it was literally a swimming pool under it. By the time we got the new ropes on both R and I were soaked through. We decided as it was only 4pm we would head home to get changed and then come back. As we left the hall to walk over the carpark to the pickup the freezing air on the wet clothes made it unbearable.We got in the car and headed home. The traffic was that congested it took us 40 minutes to do 600 yrds! By the time we got home we decided to call it a night and return the next morning.

Wednesday and it started off well, we got to the sec ok and started to clean. Next up was get all the lights working. There had been a problem with a lamp baton so R had put on a new plug. As he plugged it in we heard a distinct POP!. The lights went out and we knew it was something to do with the lightbox. Remember the one I complained of before?,that one up in the top of the tower! So R climbed up and got it out. It had blown a triac and a fuse. We fixed this and tested the unit but no go as one channel was only showing 50v AC. So a quick search online and off to Maplins for a new lightbox (£25). While he was away I opened up the pesky baton and found a short inside.R returned later and we got it all fitted up, but still no power so we must have blown a connection elsewhere. R climbed up again and found a hidden inline fuse, but still no lights. On the bright side (pardon the pun) the in line fuse activated the strobecaps that we hadn't got working for the last 4 years!(every cloud has a silver lining). It was clocking up 2 hours wasted now and I told R just to wire the lightbox into the strobecaps feed too. This he did and eventually we had lights. Now well behind schedule we put in the new bulbs and that was 8:30pm, chucking out time at the SEC.

This morning we went back again, en route I picked up a blower to put on the pump to help keep the thing cool.We finished off the lights first before heading off for the operators meeting. It's a heads up for running of the event and there is always a very good buffet! After that we spent the rest of the day washing and cleaning. The ride has been waxed & polished from top to bottom, all the windows cleaned inside and out, the carriage seats polished and the tower painted. Hopefully all systems are go for tomorrow as after that it will be full on through the holidays. Out at the Mall everything is frozen solid, a repeat of last year. If the winters are going to become like this yearly, we will be forced to give it a miss I think.

The picture is of SG's superbly presented Extreme. I took the picture on my new Nokia C7, It's 8mp wide screen shot looks great (I reduced size for upload speed). I had to get it as the camera on my old phone packed in, that's how I never posted a pict of bro's new dodgem, but I'll get one tomorrow. There are a couple of new rides in this year- JC's Frisby and Superbowl, SM's Toboggan and JC's Gallopers. I've been that busy that I have never had a chance to walk around the hall to get any picts.

In case I dont get a chance tomorrow- MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! keep safe in this weather.